Fiction and Fact

Unfortunately there are a few individuals who are spreading untrue information, which I will politely call “Myths”, about the proposed Crosstrail development. I’ve seen the presentations by both sides. There are some myths that need to be corrected.

Myth:
Crosstrail is shoving a bunch of houses up against the Leesburg airport.

Fact:
Everything that I have read, seen and heard about the residential uses in Crosstrail shows that the residences are more than 1,000 feet from the runway. This was explained by a Peterson representative to the Loudoun County Planning Commission at a public meeting, which I attended. I have measured this distance myself and the statement is correct. It is also a fact that all of the residential property is outside of the 65 dba noise area. The FAA, Loudoun County, and the Town of Leesburg recognize this line as the boundary for residential building near airports whether it is Dulles or Leesburg.

Myth:
The Leesburg airport provides over five times greater economic impact than the Peterson Development will on an annual basis.

Fact:
When completed, Crosstrail will have over 6,500 employees. This was publicly stated by a senior Vice President of Peterson at a Planning Commission work session, which I attended. The airport has less than 200 employees. A fiscal impact study was done for Crosstrail that measured only the net tax benefits for the project, not the total economic impact. The $40 million economic airport impact, which is often quoted by airport commission officers, measured such things as salaries for all the employees at the airport and applied a multiplier to this number. Crosstrail will have more than 30 times the number of employees that the airport has now. Considering the office and other uses planned there, Crosstrail’s economic impact to the County will be many, many times greater than the airport’s economic impact. All the land at the airport is owned by the Town and as a result generates zero real estate taxes and minimal personal property taxes for the Town and the County.

Myth:
Not one single element of the Crosstrail plan is aimed at commercial office uses or aviation business needs.

Fact:
At the Loudoun County Planning Commission public hearing, a company with their current corporate headquarters in Herndon announced that they were moving 250 employees to Crosstrail - mainly due to the mixed use nature of the project. This one new employer that Crosstrail has attracted to Loudoun County (and just one of many that will be at Crosstrail) is bringing more employees than the airport currently has or will for many years. Peterson has stated that there will be over 1.5 million square feet of office space at Crosstrail, plus they have offered to sell or lease land to the airport if the Town wants it. The FAA has given this land offer the highest priority in the new updated airport master plan, which means that 98% of this land could be acquired with Federal and State grants.

These are the facts, plain and simple.

Dinner and a Movie

I took my wife and daughter out for dinner recently explaining that where we were going was a metaphor for Crosstrail. There was only one question on the way home, "When will all this be in Leesburg?"

We were at Fairfax Corner, a retail development very similar to what The Peterson Companies are planning to develop at Crosstrail. The wait at Coastal Flats, a restaurant owned by the same company owns Sweet Water Tavern in Sterling, would have made us late for the movie. So we had an excellent dinner at Rio Grande. As we took a casual stroll to an amazing 16 screen multiplex, my wife and daughter were enthused the over shopping opportunities.

On our way into Fairfax Corner, we passed Fair Lakes and very attractive office buildings with marquee names like Nortel Networks, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and IBM. We also saw residential clusters that were tastefully incorporated within walking and biking distance of the offices as well as all the great shopping and dining.

The 500 plus acres between the Greenway, Battlefield Parkway, Crosstrail Boulevard and the Leesburg Airport is the perfect location for this type of development. It will improve our economy and our quality of life. Dinner and a movie anyone?

What Are These Ads?

You will notice small “Ads by Google” at the bottom of the side bar to the right. We allow Google to serve us ads and they pay us for every click on these ads from this site. Google has “web crawlers” that look at every site that subscribes to this program, determines which advertisers’ ads fit on which sites, and servers up the ads. Advertisers get their message to the most interested eyeballs. (Click on the ad and see what you get.) This is targeted marketing at its finest and the reason your Google stock has increased a 1000% in value. Of course the content of the ads does not always reflect my views, but that’s the case in almost any media.

If you want to learn more, check out Google Advertising Programs.

Why Support Crosstrail

The Leesburg Airport has a few problems - the largest of which is a huge financial drain on the Town of Leesburg. The airport lost $537,000 in 2005 which was an increase from $501,000 in 2004. The Town Council is concerned about this. Some have asked me how this loss could be turned into a profit, or into at least a breakeven situation. Their suggestion was that perhaps increasing the personal property tax on airplanes to the same tax rate for farm and construction equipment, etc., charging landing fees and other user charges might be a solution. I said I disagreed. My solution is Crosstrail.

Crosstrail will make it possible for companies that own business jets to locate in the Class A office space that the Peterson Company is planning to develop. Their executives and employees can live in Crosstrail, shop in Crosstrail, and even walk or bike to work, eat in fine restaurants, and enjoy entertainment. Think Reston Town Center or Peterson’s Fair Lakes development. Neither of these communities is near an airport, which market research shows will be a strong selling point to major corporations. These are the companies that own and operate business jets. The Peterson Company has a Gulfstream.

Two hundred or even 300 small airplanes will never make the Leesburg Airport profitable. A few business jets will. My business has given me the opportunity to work with almost every major general aviation airport in the US and many smaller ones. I understand what works and what does not. I have been following the Crosstrail development for over a year and have studied it carefully. I am convinced it will be the biggest boost to the airport since I negotiated the deal to bring the Flight Service Station to the airport the early 1980s. The Flight Service Station will be gone in February.

The Peterson Companies does not want to see the airport stagnate or close as some have suggested. Bringing major companies to our community will make the Leesburg Airport a center for business aviation. No longer will we have to wait 16 years for life-saving improvements like a glide slope and a control tower.

Noise and safety are two other issues that are being debated. Pilots do not fly inside the Greenway on a downwind to runway 35. The downwind leg is west of the Greenway. An off-airport landing or accident is extremely rare. This has never happened on the Crosstrail property, at least in the last 30 years that I can attest to. Lawn mowers in Crosstrail will make more noise than airplanes. Noise contours compiled by the FAA confirm this.

Finally a personal note - I spent 12 years of my life managing and developing the Leesburg Airport on a full-time basis. I did it 24/7. It was my only job. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of my own money transforming the airport from a bankrupt recreational airfield into an airport capable of handling business jets. This airport is in my blood. No one wants it to succeed more than I do. I will do everything I can to ensure the airport's success.
Originally posted June 13, 2006

Transition Time

We now move on to a new era. A new Town Council took office on July 1st. I wish them well, each and everyone. I know everyone wants what is best for Leesburg and Loudoun County, and I know there and many different views on how to get there. I hope you will join me by expressing your views and debate the issues here on Leadership Leesburg’s new Blog. Enjoy the new look, but most importantly the new content. I will begin by posting some of the articles that were posted on our old Blog after the election. The comments to these postings are not easily transitioned, but you are welcome to jump back in again if you left a comment on any of these postings.

Finally, if you would like to originate new material or new postings, contact me and I will set it up so you can do so. It is very easy to contribute.