North Stafford, Va. — The on again – off again project to redevelop Aquia Towne Center is progressing with several new businesses signed up to lease space at the mixed-use shopping center.
New restaurants including Bungalow Ale House, Travinia Italian Kitchen, as well as other businesses like Gold’s Gym, a new Regal Cinemas and a child development center called The Learning Experience have all signed leases to open in the center.
Bungalow already has a location in Woodbridge, and Travinia has a planned location at Potomac Town Center.
“Construction has slowed, but the developer, Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, assures us they are in the process of signing leases to fill the center with businesses that will help improve the lives of the residents in Stafford. We think the newly developed center will be a great addition to the area,” said Aquia Supervisor Paul Midle.
Construction slowed, county officials said, after the developer encountered financing issues and the effects of the stalled economy.
Stafford’s Board of Supervisors in 2006 approved a rezoning for the property near the intersection of U.S. 1 and Va. 610 in North Stafford to include a mix of retail and commercial office space. Since then, a new office tower that houses Northrop Grumman was built on the property.
But other businesses that were once a staple in the center, such as a Big Lots, Rite Aid Pharmacy, and the locally-owned Gargoyles Coffee Shop have were all closed and demolished. A Shoppers Food Warehouse that was in the shopping center moved into Stafford Marketplace in 2004.
“We anticipate the center to be well under construction in the next two years. They’ve got good leasing activity going on now, but they tell us they’ve had some financial problems in the past that should be resolved and construction should be back on soon,” said Stafford Economic Development spokesman Tim Baroody.
