Retail

Facelift for Ashburn shopping center gets underway

One of Ashburn’s more dated looking shopping centers is getting a facelift that will give it a modern new appearance and help it compete with the newer center right next door.

We’re talking about Ashburn Commons. That’s the Harris Teeter-anchored center at the intersection of Ashburn Village Boulevard and Route 7.

The center’s colors and design are currently noticeably older looking than the adjacent Ashbrook Marketplace center that was built just a few years ago. The properties are owned and operated by different entities.

To add insult to injury, a couple of tenants originally at Ashbrook Commons — specifically Starbucks and Rubino’s Pizzeria — jumped from the older center to the newer center.

Ashbrook Marketplace has the Lidl grocery store, the Bourbon Bayou Kitchen restaurant, and many other tenants. It’s fully leased at the moment — meaning there are no vacant spaces. That’s an enviable position for a landlord.

Meanwhile, Ashbrook Commons has seven vacancies currently, including two large ones. Those are the former homes of HomeGoods, a home decor shop that has moved to Leesburg, and A.C. Moore, a craft store.

 

Image: KLNB
Image: KLNB

To better compete with all the shopping centers in the area, the owners of Ashbrook Commons are giving the entire center a new color scheme,  as well as adding awnings and other architectural features.

The Burn first told you about the plans last fall — and in the past week or so, the work has finally started.

Scaffolding is up in front of many of the center’s stores and temporary banner signs have been hung over doorways. A “Pardon our Dust” sign greets shoppers at the entrances.

No word on how long the make-over will take, but when it’s finished, Ashbrook Commons will have a whole new look and hopefully prove enticing to new businesses to help fill the vacant spaces.