For the first time in years, the developer has a potential timeline for its long-delayed downtown Herndon redevelopment that it’s optimistic might actually hold — news greeted by community members with a mix of guarded hope and skepticism.
After a well-attended, sometimes emotional public hearing, the Herndon Town Council voted unanimously last night (Tuesday) to push back the “outside satisfaction date” to finalize an amended agreement with the developer from tomorrow (Thursday) to Sept. 10.
This is the second time the deadline has been extended since Comstock initiated a two-year pause on the project in April 2022, citing increased construction costs and difficulties with obtaining materials.
The market challenges that have stymied the project, which also include rising labor costs, high interest rates and post-pandemic difficulties with convincing banks to finance real estate development, are finally starting to ease, Comstock CEO Chris Clemente told the town council in an update.
The company is now hopeful that it can get bond and construction financing approvals by the end of this year, enabling its contractor Davis Companies to start site work on a duct bank to hold utilities in January and break ground next April.
Based on that timeline, a planned public parking garage, which has been designated as a priority for the first phase of construction, could be delivered by July 2026, with the overall project finishing by mid-2027.
“We know everybody has patiently waited for this project to get out of the ground,” Clemente said. “We don’t have any benefit from putting it off. We are here to tell you that we see the stars are now aligning, and we can actually get this project started by early next year.”
He cautioned that there are still some question marks, particularly around whether the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates, but he and Herndon Town Attorney Lesa Yeatts confirmed that a revised comprehensive agreement is almost ready for the town council’s vote.
The newly approved extension was needed to address “minor language issues,” but all major negotiations are essentially complete, they said.
“During that two-year [pause], the parties did not ever stop speaking to each other and trying to move this project forward,” Yeatts said. “Again, the parties are very, very close. They’re having a lot of productive discussions and doing a lot of work.”
Herndon originally entered the comprehensive agreement with Comstock in October 2017, committing the developer to transforming nearly 5 acres of its downtown area with 273 apartments, approximately 17,000 square feet of retail, a 16,265-square-foot arts center and a 726-space parking garage.
Town officials anticipated that construction would start in 2019, but the agreement gave Comstock the option to delay closing for up to 24 months if it “deems such delay is necessary due to adverse changes in the multifamily or retail market” in Herndon.
The project stalled in 2018 after some neighboring property owners filed an appeal challenging the Heritage Preservation Review Board’s approval of the redevelopment plan. The board voted unanimously in May 2019 to approve new architectural plans and certificates for the demolition of the former Suburu dealership at 770 Elden Street and Arts Herndon’s current space at 750 Center Street.
However, the town council amended the agreement in November 2020 to set a construction start deadline of Dec. 31, 2021. Comstock took ownership of the property in the northeast quadrant of the Elden and Center street intersection on Dec. 15, 2020.
Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As the deadline approached, the developer indicated construction could begin in 2022, but that April, it instead exercised its two-year pause option.
Town staff have been reviewing building permits and site plans, but residents and elected officials have grown frustrated seeing a core downtown block sit untouched, even as Comstock has moved forward with more intense development in Reston.
In an interview last week, Councilmember Cesar del Aguila told FFXnow that he believes the contract with Comstock was “a mistake,” noting that the town is now “in a bad spot because we don’t have a lot of leverage” for negotiations.
He reiterated the sentiment at last night’s meeting, albeit with a slightly more optimistic tone following Clemente’s presentation.
“Hope is not a strategy when it comes to dealing with a for-profit entity. I don’t blame them,” del Aguila said. “I just think we were outmaneuvered. Having said that, I think they’re acting in good faith…I think there will be a huge upside.”
While many community members thanked Comstock for the update, expressing hope for more communication in the future, speakers pushed the town council to include penalties or other enforcement mechanisms in the updated agreement to ensure the developer sticks to firm deadlines.
Some suggested the town should cut its losses if the Sept. 10 deadline isn’t met, though del Aguila noted that the town can’t back out of the contract without facing penalties of its own. One woman noted that starting from scratch would slow down the downtown revitalization effort even more.
“I’m happy to hear Mr. Clemente’s optimism, but it’s been eight years, and we’re quite frustrated,” one resident said. “During this lengthy period of stagnation, we’ve had various downtown businesses close. We’ve had new ones that are unable to open, and there’s been a great deal of revenue loss for the town, so I sincerely hope we can move forward and there won’t be any more delays.”
