Kuhn presents plans for Town annexation – 118.81 acres on Purcellville Road

By Valerie Cury

A year after he first proposed to the Town Council that Purcellville annex his 118.81-acre property on Purcellville Road, owner Chuck Kuhn held a briefing with community members to review his plans for the parcel. The meeting, held at Patrick Henry College on Jan. 26, was attended by some 50 people. 

Formerly known as Warner Brook, the property is located in Loudoun County at 17110 Purcellville Road, north of Rt. 7 and east of Purcellville Road, opposite the Mayfair community.

Kuhn is proposing a commercial center on the property with 383,000 square feet of light industrial on 22 lots ranging from 1.61 to 7.83 acres per lot, with a 50-ft. buffer around the property. Daily trips would run from approximately 1,500 to 3,800. The property is currently zoned for residential housing—one house per three acres, or around 39 single-family homes. 

Attendees said that the County zoning of three houses per acre would be a better fit for the area.  

Purcellville resident Lydia Clark said the proposed 50 ft. buffer “doesn’t cut it.” She reminded Kuhn that his earlier proposal to the Purcellville Town Council had the same proposed buffer of 50 ft., and the public said it was not large enough back then. She pointed out that the current proposal showed no increase in the buffer from the last presentation.

Magic Kayhan, who owns the 13-acre parcel on the southern corner, which used to be part of the property, said he wants “Purcellville to stay the way it is.” Kayhan is thinking of turning the property’s stone house, large barn, and other buildings into an events center/corporate retreat, a beer and wine garden, and an ice cream parlor for the children. 

Several attendees said they didn’t move to Purcellville to be in Ashburn. They also are worried about the dangers increased traffic would bring to the area. The Mayfair development currently has 75 school-aged children.

Kuhn explained that the economics don’t lend to putting the property into conservation easement  as he has done with thousands of other acres in rural Loudoun County. “It’s a multi-million-dollar property … progress must take place,” said Kuhn. He pointed out that the proposed annexation would create jobs and would “give the town a tax base.”

Kuhn explained that the proposed plan will change based on the citizen comment he heard from the attendees. He added that he has left some land for a skate park.

The meeting, hosted by Michael Romeo, senior land use planner with Walsh, Colucci, Lubley, and Walsh, P.C., was held at Library Study Center at Patrick Henry College located at 10 Patrick Henry Circle in Purcellville, on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m