HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2013-06-28 Potomac Crossing Park
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Leesburg Town Council Seeks Resident Feedback on Plans for
Potomac Crossing Park
Public comment session planned for July 23, 2013, Town Council meeting
Leesburg, VA (June 28, 2013) – In
1988, when construction began on
the Potomac Crossing neighborhood
in northeast Leesburg, one of the
amenities that the developer
promised residents was a park. In
fact, construction of the park was a
condition of the Town of Leesburg’s
approval of the neighborhood Master
Plan. An eight-acre parcel of land for
the park was reserved, but the park
was never built.
In late 2011, with the neighborhood
completed except for the park, the Town of Leesburg approached Arcadia Development, the
developer of Potomac Crossing, about the requirement to build the park. In November 2012,
Arcadia reached a settlement agreement with Town, opting to make a cash contribution of
$597,000 to the Town in lieu of building the park.
However, the settlement funds are not sufficient to develop a park of the size or with the
amenities identified in the approved Master Plan. In November 2012, the Leesburg Town
Council directed Town staff to engage the community on how best to use the available funds.
After a series of public meetings, staff determined that the greatest level of public support was
for construction of a scaled-down version of the original design of the park, to be located at the
end of Shanks Evans Road.
The new design for Potomac Crossing Park calls for clearing approximately 2.5 acres of wooded
area, down from 6.5 acres in the original design. The reduced clearing footprint will preserve
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TOL PR 2013-06-28 Potomac Crossing Park
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approximately 200 mature trees. Amenities proposed for the park include a playground, picnic
area and shelter, open play area, paved and primitive trails that connect to the trail network in
Balls Bluff Regional Park, and a paved parking area. The modified design was endorsed
unanimously by the Leesburg Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission in February 2013.
At the Leesburg Town Council meeting on Tuesday, July 23, 2013, the Council will solicit public
comment on the proposed new design for Potomac Crossing Park. Following public comment,
the Council is expected to appropriate the settlement funds (i.e., add the funds to the Town’s
FY 2014 Budget) and add construction of the park to the Town’s Capital Improvement Program
(CIP). Once added to the CIP, final design and construction should take about 18 months, with
completion of the park expected in early 2015.
For more information about Potomac Crossing Park, or to submit comments, please contact Bill
Ference, the Town’s Public Space and Parks Planner, at wference@leesburgva.gov.
Contact:
Richard Williams
Director of Parks & Recreation
rwilliams@leesburgva.gov
703-737-7140
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