The Burn has gotten a bunch of messages from people wondering why the trees have been chopped down at the intersection of Ashburn Farm Parkway and Summerwood Circle, near the Global Foods and the Buffalo Wing Factory. It’s all part of a facelift for the Ashburn Farm Village Center currently underway.
The trees are coming down and the earthen berm will reportedly be removed in an effort to make the center more visible to the 50,000 cars that pass by on Ashburn Farm Parkway each day. In it’s previous state, the center was sort of hidden from view and easy to overlook. As part of the effort, new, more prominent signage is being planned as well. Check out this artist rendering from the center’s leasing agent to get an idea of what it will look like when completed.
As The Burn previously reported — Global Foods may not be there much longer. The 57,000 s.f. space is currently available for lease. That includes possibly cutting the space up into smaller units if no single large business is interested. Once Global Foods leaves, the facade of the former supermarket will get a make-over as well.
I just noticed that today when I went to advance auto parts. Looks better already.
not true – the road is being widened! Loudoun.gov/farmwellroad
Not true. The road widening is scheduled to stop at Ashburn Road, before the center. The work happening now is to reduce the trees and berm that block the view of the center.
This looks awful, and totally against the Ashburn Farm HOA guidelines for non residential properties. We do not want our community to look like yet another strip mall town. Regency Centers, the company behind this plan, asked the HOA what our HOA guidelines were and then proceeded to completely ignore them. Residents are (rightly) fuming about this!
Someone needs a tissue.
The HOA sent out an email essentially saying they didn’t approve it but because of the way the deal is set up, there’s nothing they can do. All they could do is sue and apparently the case would be decided by a 5-member board. The shopping center has 3 of the 5 votes, so they’re not going to vote against themselves. Wonder who put that deal together, because it’s not a deal worth having if they already have the votes in their pocket.
Lol
Oh awesome, let’s cut down a few more trees to get a better view of a shopping center I’ll never use, filled with redundant shops on the edge of existence. For the love of God, stop this vendetta and cease the constant clear cutting.
Noticed this sad sight over the weekend and felt extremely sorry. These older communities are serene and have a beautiful charm about them ‘coz of these lush green living and breathing things.
“reduce the trees and berm that block the view of the center”…seriously? Who gives the right to who to chop them off? Do the authorities not take the opinion of the residents and the HOA at all?
Ashburn Farm will become another Sterling. There is no need for people to see the shopping center. The residents that live in Ashburn Farm know it is there already. Maybe time for a boycott of all businesses there until trees are restored.
It looks terrible. Part of the reason we moved to Ashburn Farm from Ashburn Village was b/c of the landscaping and walkable spaces that had beautiful trees. Who wants to see yet another shopping center?
I was horrified when I saw our trees being chopped down. Trying to make some sense of it, my husband surmised that perhaps they were diseased. I called AFHOA to inquire, and was appalled to learn the true reason these trees were eliminated. …Enough with the development! Ashburn’s small-city appeal is eroding more and more. Can’t we, please, keep Ashburn Farm from further development/destruction?
Sent from my iPad
Those trees have been there for 30 years making the neighborhood beautiful for everyone who lives here. We enjoyed seeing them twice a day every single day. The landscaping is what makes Ashburn Farm such a great place to live.
Maybe they could have had the foresight to design it better in the first place. Seems like a Rube Goldberg design with the lot adjacent to the auto parts store
Most folks know where the strip mall is located. There is no need to tear down trees and wreck the entrance to our fine community. A suit may be our best option.
so sad that now I have to boycott my favorite Barber Shop. They are usually busy but provide great service. So that’s the reason i go. It’s clearly not a visibility problem.
So Gentlemen’s Barber Shop, Buffalo Wing Factory, and VirginiaTire all seem to be doing fine. But the tired-looking grocery store with ceiling tiles that are falling apart and the dry cleaners with a line and a guy just looks on his phone all day aren’t doing well? Doesn’t seem like a visibility problem to me it seems like a customer service problem.
So when those stores close, what will go in next to close?
A revolving door it seems.
I think this is clearly to find new tenants. If it’s not possible to passing traffic then it does effect the business. Before commenting that cutting down trees is bad, look at every shopping mall nearby and see how they look
There is an Ashburn Farm Board of Trustees meeting on Sept 4 at 7 PM. I encourage people to attend and voice their complaints. The Board represents us. Also call our county supervisor (Ralph Buona). Regency is violating the concept of the Farm in that in 1988 the community was based on having winding roads and berms with trees. I will be shopping less at that strip mall. Regency personnel should realize that there are more options for people now to shop in or near Ashburn. People know what stores are in the Farm. Their unwillingness to follow the process for change is deplorable. Destroying the landscape at the front of the community erodes property values. The owners of the Professional Building in the Farm have a vote and hopefully we can convince them to support the community.
Didn’t Trump cut down trees at his golf course too? Was it so golfers could see the Potomac? I don’t recall.
Is the Trump course in Ashburn?
I know where his golf course is. My comment was intended to remind people that this isn’t the 1st time some big corporations do things for their own reasons, rather than considering their neighbors or possibly the standards set by the neighborhoods.
I do not believe Trump’s course is in Ashburn. Bottom line here is that Regency/the landlord did not follow the process and our association manager provided it to them (again) before the trees were removed.
His course is not in Ashburn. It is in Sterling near Algonkian. I said I knew where it was.
The 7000 residents of the Farm know the location of the strip mall and the stores there. The real problem is the quality and type of stores there as well as the increased competition. “Drive bys” can google stores where they have an interest. Regency/the owners did not follow the procedures for making changes and that angers a significant number of residents. Simply no need to trash the front of the community which has berms throughout. That shopping center has been there for over 30 years so people know the location.
There are no good stores in that shopping center so removing the trees and making the center more visible is not going to help. I have been to the Advanced Auto once since moving here 5 years ago. Add good stores and people will come trees or no trees.
Couldn’t they have just left the trees alone, and just put up a sign on each corner listing the stores in the the shopping center? Then the 50,000 cars would have awareness without destroying the natural beauty of the area. Seems like a simple solution to me.
Same shopping center could lose Buffalo Wing shop. they’ve been looking for a better location for about 6-7 years.
If Buffalo Wings is looking for a better location, this has nothing to do with the visibility of stores in the center. People who live in the Farm and nearby developments know the stores in the strip mall in question. There is a lot more competition in retail and the food business and this may explain why sales are dropping in the Ashburn Farm commercial strip. It has little to do with visibility. Berms and trees were always intended to be part of Ashburn Farm Parkway. Destroying the entrance to Ashburn Farm will do little to help stores in the front of the development. Stores should focus on promoting what they offer. The other commercial strip mall in the Farm appears to be doing well despite the berms.
Comments are closed.