Chuck Kuhn Set To Buy Long-Stalled 225-Acre Loudoun Development Site
A development site with 3M SF of potential near the new Innovation Center Silver Line Station in Loudoun County is poised to come under new ownership.
Local landowner Chuck Kuhn, CEO of JK Moving Services, is under contract to acquire the 225-acre Waterside development site through his JK Land Holdings subsidiary, from an affiliate of the Gudelsky Group, Kuhn confirmed to Bisnow. Washington Business Journal first reported the deal had been reached.
"We are excited to work with the county and the community to redevelop and rezone the site," Kuhn told Bisnow.
Waterside, which includes Gudelsky's Chantilly Crushed Stone quarry, had been approved in 2015 for 5M SF of mixed-use development, including 2,500 multifamily units, 395 age-restricted units and 3.8M SF of office, retail and cultural uses. That plan was for the site when it spanned 335 acres before a portion of it was sold in 2018 to COPT to build Amazon data centers.
The Waterside site in 2018 was pitched as part of Loudoun County's unsuccessful bid for Amazon HQ2, and in 2022 the Washington Commanders offered to acquire the site when then-owner Dan Synder sought to build a new stadium, but the bid was rejected by Gudelsky, the WBJ reported at the time.
Kuhn plans to submit a new concept plan in the next two months for a project including residential, retail, flex-industrial space and a small amount of office, he told WBJ.
Kuhn's real estate activity in recent years has centered around buying land in Loudoun and Prince William counties for data center development, and in some cases selling the sites for a huge profit. In March he sold a 124-acre Prince William County site to Microsoft for $466M after paying $47M for it in 2020.
But Loudoun County officials have opposed data center development near new Silver Line stations, including Innovation Center. Last month, county supervisors said they would reject any proposal that includes data centers for a separate 30-acre site near that station.
Another project planned nearby, Rivana at Innovation Station, received county approval last year for 6.4M SF of mixed-use development, including office, residential, retail, hotel and civic space.
