All Aboard! Woodbridge to See Building Boom

According to the Washington Business Journal, the Woodbridge area of Prince William County (home of Potomac Mills Mall) is about to experience a building boom in an effort to capitalize on its Virginia Railway Express (VRE) transit stop. The Hazel Land Companies, Inc., is backing the creation of Rippon Center, a high-end $200 million project next to the VRE’s Rippon Station that will feature 550 high-rise condominiums, 250,000 sf of office space, and 27,000 sf of retail, as well as a 300-space parking deck. Justifying the project, Bob Wulff, executive vice president of Hazel, told the Journal that "[t]his property is walking distance to the train station, and in an era where traffic is only getting worse, it's a terrific asset. You can get to Downtown D.C. in 35 minutes." Hazel has already developed a 734-unit community next to this land at Riverside Station. Prince William County planning officials have already approved Rippon Center's rezoning application, and if the Board of Supervisors also approves it this summer, construction would start in 2008.