Politics & Government

Leesburg Town Council Seeks Feedback on New Potomac Crossing Park Plans

The Town of Leesburg will hold a public hearing at its meeting on July 23.

The Leesburg Town Council is currently soliciting public comment on its plans for Potomac Crossing Park.

When construction began on the Potomac Crossing neighborhood in northeast Leesburg in 1988, one of the amenities that the developer promised residents was a park, according to the Town. It was included in the Town's 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, according to the Town.

However, these funds are not sufficient to develop a park of the size or with the amenities identified in the approved Master Plan. Last November, the Leesburg Town Council began to solicit feedback from residents about a potential park. After a series of public meetings, staff concluded  that the greatest level of public support was for construction of a scaled-down version of the original design of the park, which will 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, according to a news release sent by the Town of Leesburg. The reduced clearing footprint will preserve approximately 200 mature trees. Proposed amenities 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 Leesburg Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee  endorsed the modified design unanimously in February.

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The Leesburg Town Council will solicit public comment on the proposed new design for the park at its meeting on July 23.  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 Town of Leesburg Public Space and Parks Planner Bill Ference at wference@leesburgva.gov.

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