Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s new transportation bank issued its first loan to private developers this week — the bank’s only investment in Northern Virginia so far.
The $80 million loan will go to Loudoun County developers to extend Gloucester Parkway and Pacific Boulevard over Broad Run, a tributary of the Potomac River. The project is intended to relieve congestion on Route 7 and Waxpool Road.
“It’s a project that’s going to have a major impact on traffic on Route 7 and Route 28 in Loudoun County,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton.
The developers of a 400-acre site known as Kincora had promised to build the road project as part of their zoning deal, but the state loan will allow them to speed construction by 15 years.
“What this does is it provides the ability for us to basically embark on [building the road] now,” said Michael Scott, one of the Kincora developers. “This loan … represents a big win for Loudoun County citizens.”
Scott said the road extension should be finished by late 2014.
Kincora developers hope to build 6.7 million square feet of office and residential space, a performing arts center, a ballpark and a 175-acre park at the intersection of Routes 7 and 28. The site is about three miles from Metro’s proposed Silver Line to Washington Dulles International Airport.
The developers will repay the state’s low-interest loan over 20 years, allowing the state to reinvest the money in more transportation projects, Connaughton said.
“It’s sort of the poster child for why we established the infrastructure bank — the state being able to advance projects that would not otherwise be able to go forward without some sort of foundational loan,” he said.
The bank was part of McDonnell’s $4 billion transportation package, which passed last year. The bank made another loan, of $80 million, to help build a toll road alongside Route 460 in Southern Virginia.
