Tag: J. Randall Minchew

County Board Approves Loudoun Mutual Insurance Company’s Rezoning ​

Posted on by Brigitte Flores

In the first landowner-sponsored rezoning in the Village of Waterford, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors recently approved a rezoning and two special exceptions to allow for Loudoun County’s oldest continually-operated business, Loudoun Mutual Insurance Company, to grow its business at its location in the historic Village of Waterford.

Loudoun Mutual established its business in the Village of Waterford in 1849. In 1949, before there was a Zoning Ordinance in Loudoun County, Loudoun Mutual built its current office building in full conformance with all Loudoun County zoning and land development ordinances and regulations as they existed at that time. Revisions to the County Zoning Map occurred in 1993 that changed the designation on the property to a residential zoning district, which does not allow commercial office uses. Due to this oversight, the property was never granted commercial zoning.

Loudoun Office Managing Shareholder Randy Minchew and fellow land use attorney Sasha Brauer shepherded Loudoun Mutual through the County’s application process to rezone the property to a commercial zoning district and bring the property into full conformance with Loudoun County zoning requirements. Additionally, in order to facilitate the expansion of its current office building, the approval included a special exception for a building greater than 10,000 square feet, and a special exception to reduce the amount of off-street parking.

Loudoun Mutual agreed to install a pedestrian path on the property and to implement tree preservation measures and storm water best management practices. Because the property is located in the Historic District of the Village of Waterford, the expansion of the building will require a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic District Review Committee. Allen Kitselman of Main Street Architecture, PC prepared preliminary architectural renderings that integrate design elements compatible with the existing office building and the character of Waterford.

With these approvals, Loudoun Mutual looks forward to continuing its long history of operating and doing business in Loudoun County and the Village of Waterford. Loudoun Mutual’s President, Chris Shipe, expressed his appreciation to Walsh Colucci, specifically Randy Minchew and Sasha Brauer “for all their help and work guiding this through the process to allow Loudoun Mutual to continue to operate in the place where we were founded.”

 

Image Source: Loudoun Mutual Insurance Company

 

Church & Market Project in the Heart of Leesburg’s Historic Downtown Approved

Posted on by Brigitte Flores

Church & Market

In a land use approval that will bring new vitality and high quality mixed-use architecture to Leesburg’s Old and Historic District, the Leesburg Town Council recently approved an application known as “Church & Market.” This application features 116 rental multi-family units, 11,500 square feet of office space, 3,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space, and a 2,300 square foot “maker space” with a 169-space structured parking facility integrated into the building. The Church & Market project features architecture designed by Torti Gallas + Partners that received its final certificate of appropriateness last month following detailed review by the Leesburg Board of Architectural Review.

Loudoun Office Managing Shareholder Randy Minchew and Christine Gleckner, Senior Land Use Planner, shepherded the application through the Town’s detailed application processes on behalf of the developer, L4 Capital Partners. The new building will be located in the heart of Leesburg’s Old and Historic District in the underutilized surface parking area behind the historic buildings at the southeastern quadrant of Market Street (Rt. 7) and King Street (Rt. 15). As such, the massing of the project is significantly reduced and is shielded by the historic frontage buildings that remain unchanged. This signature building is the first multi-family rental building built in the Historic District and its uses will add to Leesburg’s vibrant downtown featuring some of Northern Virginia’s finest restaurants, micro-breweries, and wine bars.

Hybrid Energy Park

Posted on by Admin
Hybrid Energy Park
Rendering of Hybrid Energy Park

Our client, Green Energy Partners, sought to obtain approval to construct a hybrid gas turbine/reuse water and photovoltaic solar array power plant in Loudoun County. The hybrid facility was proposed as an environmentally friendly, combined-cycle natural gas and water power plant that would provide a clean energy source and fulfill the region’s needs for new energy. More specifically, the proposal was for a (nominal) 778-megawatt facility, including a 589-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine plant, with two 197-megawatt, simple-cycle peaking gas turbines.

Hiring the Firm

Knowing that approval of such a large and complicated project would require a team with local land entitlement experience and political connections, Green Energy Partners hired WCL&W Shareholder Randy Minchew and Senior Land Use Planner Kimberlee Hise (f/k/a Kimberlee Cummings).

Steps Taken to Achieve the Goal

Rezoning and Special Exception approvals were necessary prior to construction. In order to achieve approvals, multiple high-level meetings with elected and appointed officials, as well as significant community outreach, was required.

The Outcome

The power plant, which will be one of the cleanest facilities of its kind in the United States, was approved unanimously and will allow Loudoun County to use power generated within its borders for the first time since the County’s inception in 1757. The approved facility will use up to 4.5 million gallons per day of wastewater effluent for cooling water, eliminating 2 billion gallons of effluent per year from being discharged into the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. The hybrid power plant will be one of the largest infrastructure projects in Virginia, and will serve as a stimulus for the local economy, creating 1,205 jobs and $183 million per year in revenues during three years of construction. Once operational, it is estimated that the facility will generate between $8 million and $412 million per year in Loudoun County real estate and personal property tax.

Update

Bechtel and Siemans Energy, Inc., are building the plant for Panda Power Funds.  Construction began in July 2014 and recently all of the offsite reuse waterline easements were obtained, which included 13 different properties. Reuse water will be supplied from the Town of Leesburg wastewater treatment plant. Panda Power Funds has raised $571 million for the Hybrid Energy Park facility and construction is anticipated to be completed in the spring of 2017.