A new proposal has been put forward to redevelop the long struggling Village Center at Belmont Greene commercial center in Ashburn.
The plan appears to call for the removal of the current shopping plaza located off Portsmouth Boulevard at Belmont Ridge Road — to be replaced by new residential units and a smaller retail center.
The Village Center at Belmont Greene shopping center — sometimes called Piccadilly Plaza — was built in 2008 as an amenity to the nearby Belmont Greene neighborhood. At one time, it was home to a Bloom grocery store as the center’s anchor.
But the grocery store left more than a decade ago and the large anchor space sat empty for years until Replay Baseball, a batting cage and baseball skills facility, opened there in 2022.
Meanwhile, an adjacent bank and a CVS pharmacy both closed and other spaces in the center were sometimes vacant.
Now, it appears that the developers are throwing in the towel on shopping center.
“Due to a number of contributing factors, including the subsequent development of competing commercial centers, the commercial floor space has underperformed, and its long-term operation is financially unfeasible,” reads a letter filed with the county.
The letter is part of an initial proposal to redevelop the land by adding some 360 residential units, including single-family detached – SFD (houses), single-family attached – SFA (usually townhomes), and multi-family homes – MFS (condos or apartments).
The plan includes 80 attached multi-family units – MFA – adjacent to Belmont Station Elementary School that would be earmarked as affordable housing, part of the county’s goal to offer residential options at lower price points.
Finally, there would be a small retail center built at the corner of Belmont Ridge Road and Portsmouth Boulevard. This would sit opposite a long-anticpated Sheetz gas station and convenience store that has been approved, but not yet built.
Area residents around Belmont Greene have seen several different proposals over the years for the shopping center and surrounding vacant land — only to have nothing happen.
This particular plan is still in the discussion stage — so there’s no guarantee that it will happen either. Stay tuned.