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Half-empty building loses potential tenant
What some view as a symbol of Loudoun's struggles to attract more big businesses remains nearly half-empty as a university decided against establishing a permanent location in the county.
The building in question, at 21000 Atlantic Blvd., is a skyline of one just west of Dulles Town Center. It looms above Route 28 like a hulking ship trimmed in blue neon. Since it was built in 2001, tenants at the Lerner Enterprises building have been hard to come by. The result, some say, is a message to other high-end commercial developers to steer clear of Loudoun.
"If that can't lease, what's to get me excited about building in the Broad Run [Business Park]?" asked Boston Properties executive vice president Raymond Ritchey to the Board of Supervisors this month.
The Utah-based technology school Neumont University had wanted to lease offices in two of the building’s seven floors.
Stacy Hughes, a school spokeswoman, said Neumont officials were excited by the prospect of opening a permanent site in technology-heavy Northern Virginia. But as the project progressed in 2007, the school hit a brick wall in the form of a county rezoning.
Lerner had to seek a zoning change to accommodate a school use at its building. Such a process in Loudoun often stretches beyond a year. Also, adding to the school's concerns was construction at the building, Hughes said, which would have caused more delays.
"The project seemed doomed from the beginning," she said.
Seeing that it would not be in the building by the start of its fall semester, the school decided two months ago to pull its plans.
A common refrain heard throughout last year's elections was the promise to entice more high-paying jobs and additional commercial development to Loudoun, which has about half the office space as Herndon and Reston.
One recent sore spot among county officials was Volkswagen's decision to relocate its North American headquarters to Herndon instead of Loudoun.
Further fraying nerves was a recent discussion supervisors had with real estate experts, who said the demise of Worldcom and the relocation of AOL's headquarters to New York City will lower demand for companies to set up shop in Loudoun.
Through outreach and tax incentives, county officials have been attempting to attract more employers similar to Dulles’ Orbital Sciences Inc. and Lansdowne’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
"We need to focus on what we have here,” said Supervisor Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac), whose district includes 21000 Atlantic Blvd.
The board also is attempting to speed up certain land-use approvals. Just last week, supervisors voted to expedite a private school’s land-use application so it can occupy a space in Ashburn by September.
As for 21000 Atlantic Blvd., Dulles Town Center's Web site advertises the sleek building as a design award winner with ample visibility from Route 28. But of its 185,000 square feet of space, the site lists 45 percent as still available.
"It's leasing up," promised a confident Arthur Fuccillo, managing director of development for Lerner. "I don't know the status of all the leases. But people are looking and leases are being negotiated."
Neumont officials would not disclose what price was being negotiated. However, others in the county have said space in the building is going for at least $30 a square foot per month. Typically, rents in Loudoun range in the mid-$20s.
Fuccillo did not immediately respond to a second message seeking confirmation of the building's lease prices.
So what attracts tenants to a particular building? Amenities, for one, according to Robyn Bailey, the county's manager of business infrastructure.
She said like Reston Town Center, where space runs at least $15 a square foot more than in Loudoun, nearby restaurants, shopping and parking rank high on companies' wish lists.
"It takes the right rent and the right feel," she said.
Tony Howard, president of the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce, pointed to price as a possible reason businesses are not flocking to 21000 Atlantic Blvd. But, he said, companies with deep pockets like Lerner can afford to wait on tenants.
Still, because of its visibility and creative design, he's confident the building will eventually fill.
"It certainly has a great location," he said. "And it's a great class-A office building, which are rare in Loudoun."
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com
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