Despite recent discussions regarding zoning changes in the town, Herndon has never been the target of Comstock Companies’ plans for a Fairfax County casino, the developer said in a rare public statement on the issue.
“Comstock has not proposed, pursued, or supported casino development anywhere in Herndon,” the developer said yesterday (Thursday), also denying that it has ever harbored plans for a casino in Reston.
The statement appears to have been prompted by a report published earlier this week by FOX5, which claimed that a casino was “proposed for the area near Herndon’s Metro corridor.”
At a work session on Monday (May 4), the Herndon Planning Commission discussed a proposed zoning ordinance amendment that would’ve set parameters for a casino, requiring it to be part of a mixed-use development with a hotel, conference space, grocery store and other elements.
The amendment would’ve limited potential sites to the Herndon Transit-Oriented Core (HTOC) — an approximately 38-acre area directly north of the Herndon Metro station — and required the developer to obtain plan and special exception approvals, processes that involve public hearings and votes by the planning commission and town council.
The proposed amendment was requested by the Herndon Town Council in March shortly after the Virginia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 756, which would’ve made Fairfax County eligible to host a casino.
However, since Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger subsequently vetoed the legislation, Herndon Mayor Keven LeBlanc intends to withdraw the zoning proposal once it returns to the town council later this month, he told FFXnow, stating that the intention of the amendment was always to prohibit any casino development in the town, either explicitly or by setting such rigid criteria that no project could meet them.
Comstock-owned property in Herndon still in legal limbo
Because Comstock has been sharing plans for a possible casino in Fairfax County over the past few years, the issue appears to have gotten conflated with its now-dead project to redevelop approximately 5 acres of downtown Herndon with housing, retail, an arts center and a parking garage.
Bounded by Center, Elden and Station streets and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, that land in Old Town Herndon is still owned for now by Comstock, but it’s not in the HTOC zoning district where town staff’s proposed zoning amendment would permit a casino.
In the works since 2017 but stalled for years by various obstacles, including zoning appeals and economic uncertainties during the pandemic, the downtown Herndon redevelopment project officially collapsed when Comstock told the town in December 2024 that it had decided not to proceed with construction.
The property, which is now mostly cleared except for a building that houses Arts Herndon, has been stuck in limbo for more than a year now after the Town of Herndon sued Comstock in a bid to take back ownership. Following a hearing in Fairfax County Circuit Court on Feb. 27, the town is hoping for a ruling in the lawsuit any day now.
“The judgment would be against our core case, not against [Comstock’s] demurs or other actions,” LeBlanc explained to FFXnow on Tuesday (May 5). “… The judge said it would be about 10 weeks, and we’re at the 10-week mark.”
The ruling could still be appealed.
Tysons always focus of casino ambitions, Comstock says
In its new statement, Comstock also denied ever considering Reston as a possible location for a casino — an apparent reference to Patch’s fall 2023 report that the company was planning to build a casino in or around its Reston Station development near the Wiehle Metro station.
“Contrary to what has been reported or speculated, Comstock has never pursued the approvals necessary for a casino development anywhere on the Silver Line outside of Tysons,” Comstock said. “The reason is straightforward: our concept for what this type of destination development should look like, what it should include, and how it should function is simply not compatible with a residential neighborhood.”
The proposal to allow a casino along Metro’s Silver Line in Fairfax County cropped up for the first time during the General Assembly’s session earlier in 2023, though bills filed by state Sen. David Marsden (D-35) and Del. Wren Williams (R-47) were quickly withdrawn by their patrons.
After Patch published its story, Marsden suggested that Tysons would be a more suitable location for a casino to anchor an “entertainment district,” and when the General Assembly convened in 2024, he filed legislation that narrowed potential sites to the Silver Line corridor in Tysons outside the Capital Beltway (I-495).
Specifically, Marsden told FFXnow that Comstock was targeting the abandoned Exclusive Automotive Group lot at 8546 Leesburg Pike near the Spring Hill Metro station. Owned by Clemente Development Company and Khaled Juffali Co., the site has been approved for mixed-use development since 2019, but the planned View at Tysons project hasn’t materialized.
Comstock still hasn’t confirmed any plans to acquire the vacant site, but it was the location of a rally organized by labor unions lobbying for Spanberger to sign SB 756 in March.
Patch editor Michael O’Connell, whose 2023 story accurately identified Comstock as the developer behind the casino push, acknowledged that the identification of the Wiehle Metro station area as a possible location didn’t pan out. However, he maintains it was based on information from reliable sources, noting that Patch had reached out “repeatedly” to Comstock at the time for confirmation.
“Sources familiar with the legislation told us that when the proposal was first discussed in Richmond, Reston was one of the locations mentioned,” O’Connell said in a statement to FFXnow. “We continued to report that the casino was in Reston until Sen. Dave Marsden told FFXnow that Tysons was the location. Once we confirmed that with him, we began reporting that Tysons was where Comstock wanted to build its casino.”
While Marsden’s 2024 bill stalled in a state Senate committee, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-36) has championed legislation in the past two sessions that retained the criteria limiting Fairfax County casino sites to Tysons. The measure has gained ground with every session, and Surovell, who represents southeastern Fairfax, has said he will bring it back next year.
Comstock says Tysons “would be the most appropriate location in Northern Virginia” for its envisioned casino development, which would include housing, a convention center, a hotel, a performing arts venue and retail, based on a flyer that was distributed to state lawmakers during the General Assembly’s 2025 session.
The developer stated that it has largely “refrained” from commenting on the possible casino project “out of respect for all stakeholders in the subject jurisdiction.”
If legislation to add Fairfax County to Virginia’s list of eligible casino hosts does ever become law, the county would be tasked with identifying a preferred operator and location through a competitive bidding process, and a referendum permitting casino gambling would need to be approved by local voters.
Comstock’s full statement is below.
Comstock has intentionally refrained from making public statements about the possibility of a casino project being developed in Northern Virginia throughout the recent legislative process. We believe that the appropriate time to engage publicly is after legislation has passed and a formal, competitive process has commenced, as has occurred with other casino developments in Virginia. Out of respect for all stakeholders in the subject jurisdiction, we have honored that position consistently.
However, having recently seen press reports incorrectly implying that Comstock is pursuing or planning to pursue approval to develop a casino in Herndon, we offer this statement to set the record straight.
Comstock has not proposed, pursued, or supported casino development anywhere in Herndon, Virginia. The same was true when rumors were published regarding “our plans” for casino approval in Reston.
Contrary to what has been reported or speculated, Comstock has never pursued the approvals necessary for a casino development anywhere on the Silver Line outside of Tysons. The reason is straightforward: our concept for what this type of destination development should look like, what it should include, and how it should function is simply not compatible with a residential neighborhood. That is a matter of both principle and practicality.
We believe that Tysons would be the most appropriate location in Northern Virginia. We also believe the local economy would benefit from such a development, provided it is part of a much larger mixed-use development, not solely focused on a casino, and that the site and operator are selected after appropriate community interaction as part of a fully open, transparent, and competitive process. Northern Virginia deserves the opportunity to evaluate every available option and select the best possible development for the region.
Likewise, if legislation is ever passed that would allow a casino in Northern Virginia, we are confident that a fair selection process will reflect well on the merits of any serious proposal and that the economic impact of a well-designed mixed-use development that includes, as a small component of the overall development, a high-quality casino resort, would create thousands of jobs and meaningful economic benefit for the Northern Virginia region.
