Stalled Construction Irks Tuscarora Village Residents

In late 2016, the Leesburg Town Council approved the conversion of a long-planned—and long-dormant—office park to a mixed-use project that would include 475 residential units.

A key element in the developer winning approval of the rerezoning for the 77-acre Leegate project was a phasing plan that would ensure that at least some of the long-promised commercial development would be realized.

Now, that requirement is at the root of an uprising among the residents of the rebranded Tuscarora Village community.

Because no commercial development has occurred in the project—even a long-touted plan for a Lidl grocery store is still slogging through the review process—the developer of the residential section, Stanley Martin, is unable to start work on the next phase of home construction.

A few weeks ago, residents were told that, because of that roadblock, construction of the neighborhood’s most anticipated amenities would also be delayed—possibly for five more years.

Residents said they were given false hope or misled about when the amenities would be provided.

One of the community’s earliest buyers now sits on the Town Council.

This month, Todd Cimino-Johnson called out the developer from his seat on the dais about the “feeling of betrayal and disappointment” he and other residents feel.

“It is time for Stanley Martin to take responsibility for their actions and be honest with their clients. Start building amenities today and stop with the lies and excuses,” he said. “The Town of Leesburg is not stopping you from building these. We need to hold Stanley Martin accountable for their lack of transparency and honesty. We cannot let them get away with promising one thing and delivering nothing.”

Other residents are also voicing their frustrations.

Rebecca Tyler and her husband bought into the development three years ago, but they’ve since moved to Lucketts and now rent out their Tuscarora Village home. 

“They made so many empty promises when we purchased in early 2020. It feels like they just threw phase one of our neighborhood together, complete with overgrown empty fields on all sides, only to abandon us,” she said. “We are supposed to have a trail directly connecting us to the W&OD trail, a pool and clubhouse, as well as pickle ball/tennis courts and a tot lot. Now they are telling us that will take six years to complete, and that’s if they started today. All of those things were huge selling points for my husband and I when we purchased the home.”

Shaina Mufti and her husband moved in in December 2020 after looking at homes in other, more established neighborhoods. They were drawn to Tuscarora Village by the promise of an abundance of amenities.

“People used their hard-earned money and invested in this neighborhood and were misled and lied to. If my husband and I knew then what we know now, we would not have purchased our first home in Tuscarora Village,” she said. “Something has got to give here as the unfulfilled promises and never-ending cycle of false hope have become tiring and insulting to our intelligence. We all deserve better.”

Al Frioni noted that while there is substantial frustration among the residents about the delays in the amenities, they do find it to be a great place to live.

“I very honestly and truly love living here, and although Stanley Martin has been incredibly frustrating to deal with, my day to day in this community is wonderful and I would not trade it for any other location,” he said.

Under the Leegate phasing agreement, the neighborhood is limited to construction of 165 residential units until 45,000 square feet of commercial development—including 19,000 square feet of office space—is complete. 

Perhaps conveying a different message than that employed by the sales staff, the phasing plan was called out in a disclosure that each purchaser was required to sign at closing. In that, Stanley Martin stated it did not intend to move forward with the construction of the larger amenities until the second phase of residential construction is underway and until “there are a sufficient number of homeowners to support the pool. Accordingly, construction on the pool and related amenities may not start for a number of years.”

The phase proffer mandates that the pool and the clubhouse be complete prior to the issuance of the 320^th residential occupancy permit. 

The neighborhood is halfway to that trigger point.