Look for Leesburg to get bigger in January. A special three-judge panel appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday approved a settlement between the town and Loudoun County that will add another 401 acres to Leesburg.
The 401-acre Compass Creek development will be annexed into Leesburg, a news release from Leesburg said. The site adjacent to Leesburg Executive Airport includes retail businesses and a 323-acre Microsoft data center campus, but excludes an exit ramp off the Dulles Greenway.
In a 10-minute hearing, the judges ruled the annexation was in the public’s interest, Loudoun Now reports.
The town first approved adjusting its boundaries in 2018. The land sits within the Joint Land Management Area shared with the county and managed by both.
The two government entities tried to reach a voluntary boundary line adjustment, but couldn’t. As a result, the Leesburg Town Council “ultimately voted to initiate an annexation process in the fall of 2022, and shortly thereafter began mediation talks with Loudoun County,” the news release said.
The state Commission on Local Government recommended approval of the annexation agreement in March following a joint town-county hearing.
“I could not be more thrilled that this process has reached its conclusion. The Town Council first identified this as an economic development area of opportunity in 2018 and we are very excited to add this land into the Town of Leesburg,” said Mayor Kelly Burk, in a statement.
“I want to thank Leesburg District Supervisor Kristen Umstattd, Chair Phyllis Randall, and the rest of the Board of Supervisors for supporting Leesburg’s effort to grow our economic base.”
The annexation will mean more tax revenue for Leesburg. Additionally, the town will receive a $2 million-a-year economic grant from Loudoun County.
Feature image by Refina/stock.adobe.com
For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine’s News newsletter.
