A potential legal battle is brewing over the stalled project to revitalize Herndon’s downtown.
The Town of Herndon filed a declaration in Fairfax County Circuit Court last Friday (Feb. 28) terminating Comstock Companies’ rights to the nearly 5-acre block at the northeast corner of Center and Elden streets that the developer had planned to turn into an arts center, apartments, retail space and a parking garage.
After Comstock decided to withdraw from the long-gestating project in December, the developer was supposed to transfer the land back to the town, but so far, that hasn’t happened, according to the Town of Herndon.
“In January 2025, the town notified Comstock that it was exercising its contractual right to have the property returned,” the town said in a press release. “Comstock was supposed to execute certain documents to transfer the property back to Herndon, but to date, it has failed to do so.”
The town and Comstock, going under the name Comstock Herndon Venture LC, originally signed a comprehensive agreement in November 2017 for a redevelopment that would transform 4.7 acres of downtown Herndon with 281 residential apartments, 17,600 square feet of retail space, an arts plaza and walkways, an 18,000-square-foot arts center and a 761-space public parking garage.
The town officially transferred the site to Comstock in December 2020, but before and after that, various obstacles have delayed construction, from an appeal of the project’s approval filed by adjacent property owners to rising costs and a generally uncertain economic climate created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though the agreement has been amended several times, mostly to give Comstock more time to start construction, one provision that hasn’t changed is the developer’s obligation to “coordinate construction of the Project in its entirety” in exchange for the town transferring rights to the land.
The Town of Herndon says it’s now calling on Comstock to agree to a “nonbinding” mediation led by a neutral third-party. Under the agreement, if a dispute isn’t resolved within 90 days of either party requesting mediation, they can go to court.
“This mediation process will last no longer than 90 days, by which time, Comstock will reconvey the property or won’t, which would regrettably require that both sides spend money on litigation,” the Town of Herndon said.
Despite notifying Herndon on Dec. 6, 2024 that it had decided not to proceed with the project, Comstock remains interested in working with the town, a spokesperson said in a statement to FFXnow:
Comstock believes the project as designed would be a proud addition to Herndon’s downtown, providing needed housing, retail and arts spaces while also greatly enhancing parking options. We share the town’s disappointment that the 2019 appeal by certain residents could not be avoided and resulted in a delay of the planned 2020 construction start exposing the project budget to significant cost increases that began during the pandemic and continues to impact project costs today. The stubbornly high interest costs that have not trended down as was widely reported to be on the near-term horizon last fall. While the project has not commenced as the parties anticipated for reasons beyond the control of Comstock or the town, we remain committed to working with Herndon in whatever capacity is appropriate to bring this project to fruition and fulfill the Town’s vision for the historic downtown.
The developer didn’t comment on whether it’ll agree to mediation or to giving the land back to Herndon.
Even though it never reached construction, the redevelopment project’s collapse has left a void in downtown Herndon. Some buildings were demolished, and the short-lived bookstore A Thousand Stories moved forward with plans to close in December.
The future remains uncertain for Arts Herndon, which had been subleasing space from the town at 750 Center Street in anticipation of a temporary relocation during construction.
Even though the redevelopment has been called off, the nonprofit organization hasn’t gotten any indication yet that the notice it got in October to vacate the premises before the expected start of construction in April 2025 has been lifted. Its sublease is currently set to expire on March 31.
“Sadly Arts Herndon is not being allowed to stay in our building, a building we have been in since 2008,” Arts Herndon President and CEO Joanna Ormesher told FFXnow. “… Comstock declared, on December 10, 2024, that they were not currently planning to develop the land. However to date we have not been told there is any change in our notice to quit.”
