The Hub, the planned 5.5M SF development in Eastern Loudoun County once called Dulles World Center, could be allowed to build residential before office after its owners have tried and failed to sell the site.

Land use attorney Colleen Gillis of Cooley represents the owners, Greenfield Partners and Origami Capital Partners, and presented on their behalf at a meeting of the Loudoun County Planning Commission this week. She said 700 potential buyers have deemed the site not worthy of investment because of the requirement to build office first, Loudoun Now reports.

"Every single one of [the potential buyers] said this phasing, which requires the delivery of office upfront, makes the land virtually worthless for the foreseeable future,” said Gillis, who is the pre-eminent land use attorney in the county.

Loudoun's Board of Supervisors has traditionally voted against projects that add housing first, including rejecting a 2013 application for this development site to build 500 units of housing first. This time, the developers have proposed to include 42K SF of commercial space in the first residential buildings. The planning commission recommended the Board of Supervisors approve the project.

At full build-out, the development would include more than 3M SF of office space and more than 1,200 residential units a half-mile from the upcoming Innovation Station Silver Line Metro stop. When Origami joined the partnership in 2016, the developers hoped to open Phase 1 alongside the Metro in 2020.