Loudoun Sets Table for Whole Foods
If you hadn't heard yet, the country's richest county is getting its first Whole Foods, thanks to Regency Centers. And there's more. Developer Devin Corini (right, with colleague Alan Roth) says Belmont Chase in Ashburn offers Loundoun County a mix of high-end dining and fast-casual like Cava Mezze Grill, the metro’s first Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, and Peet’s Coffee & Tea, as well as local retailers like PR at Partners spa.
Placemaking has become a priority for new shopping centers, Alan says. At Burke's Kings Park Shopping Center, Regency even went to the trouble to shift the center's parking lot to make it work for a 93k SF redevelopment, where outdoor seating, living walls, uplighting, and soothing music are replacing clusters of wrought-iron chairs and tables.
Kings Park also represents a shift in architecture. Higher-quality materials like niche board accompany green elements like LED lighting. The company didn’t want to just “put lipstick” on an aging shopping center, Alan says, so Regency demolished Giant's 28k SF block and will replace it with a 52k SF store. (That said, if somebody wants to buy an unused, giant tube of lipstick, give 'em a call.) The deal required the purchase of surrounding land and easement negotiations. Most of the center will deliver by Thanksgiving, and Giant will reopen next spring.
