WOODBRIDGE, Va. – A new walkable community featuring more than 1,000 homes, restaurants, and Prince William County’s first Whole Foods Market is moving closer to reality at one of the region’s busiest intersections.
Over 100 people attended a community meeting at the Prince William County Government Center in Woodbridge on Saturday, July 12, where county officials and developers shared updated timelines and new design details for the Quartz District, a long-planned mixed-use development located at the intersection of Minnieville Road and Prince William Parkway. But the project’s future hinges on the construction of a Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI)—a first for the county.
“We didn’t expect this turnout,” said Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry to the standing-room only crowd. “But I’m glad you’re here, and I want to make sure we continue having these meetings throughout the project.”
The Interchange: A New Era for Local Infrastructure
Transportation Director Rick Canizales told residents the SPUI design is “90 percent complete” and said the county expects to “award the construction contract in November 2025.” Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2026, with a target completion date of 2027.
“We expect construction to begin late 2025 or early 2026,” Canizales said. “We’re trying to accelerate the timeline and finish by early 2027.”
The SPUI will lower Prince William Parkway beneath Minnieville Road, funneling all left turns and through movements through a single central traffic signal. The design is meant to reduce congestion and support the surrounding development.
A temporary detour road will connect Elm Farm Road to the Parkway during construction and will be removed upon completion of the project. Left-turn movements will be limited at various stages, but pedestrian access will remain open, with crosswalks and potential audible signals in place.
Noise, Speeding, and Resident Concerns
Some residents, especially from nearby Lakeside Townhomes, voiced concern about the lack of a sound wall. Angry responded by acknowledging safety and noise complaints.
“We hear you. There are problems on Minnieville, on the Parkway, Elm Farm, Pennington. We’ve got to do better, and we’re working on ways to slow people down.”
A county sound study concluded that the project would not increase noise levels by more than 3 decibels—below the threshold to require mitigation like a noise wall.
“We’re not ignoring the concerns,” Angry said. “We’ll continue to monitor and explore future mitigation.”
Quartz District: What’s Being Built
The Quartz District includes 1,015 residential units, including 610 townhomes and 405 multifamily units in the form of stacked condos and apartments. There are no single-family detached homes in the project.
“We’re building a walkable community with a mix of housing types,” said developer Russell “Russ” Gestl, Executive Vice President of Buchanan Partners.
Of the total, 90 homes will be income-qualified affordable housing units for residents earning between 60% and 100% of the area’s median income.
“This isn’t Section 8,” Gestl clarified. “We’re targeting working families and individuals who are priced out of the market.”
Whole Foods and Experiential Retail
The commercial portion of the project won’t break ground until the interchange is complete.
“Whole Foods isn’t going to come until the road’s done,” Gestl said. “They’ve made that very clear.”
Confirmed and potential retail tenants include:
- Whole Foods Market (anchor)
- Wawa (signed lease)
- Shake Shack
- Tatte Bakery & Café
- Great American Restaurants (the firm that opened Sweetwater Tavern, Coastal Flats, and Mike’s American)
“We’re focused on experiential retail,” said Gestl. “No big box, no discount stores.”
There will be no residential-over-retail; the commercial and residential components are distinct but walkable.
Public Benefits and Civic Commitments
The project sets aside:
- 19 acres for a public park or school site
- 7+ acres of preserved open space
- A stormwater management pond that will also serve as a community feature
Sidewalks will be built along Elm Farm Road and extended into surrounding communities where funding permits.
Gestl said Buchanan Partners has contributed over $3 million to the interchange’s design and has acquired nearby parcels to ease construction impacts.
“We’ve committed to updating the community through 2030,” Gestl said. “Every civic association involved in this process will stay in the loop.”
Background: How Quartz District Was Approved
Potomac Local News first reported on the Quartz District in February 2022 when it appeared in the Dale City Small Area Plan. The Prince William Planning Commission later recommended approval of the rezoning.
On October 18, 2022, the project went before the Board of County Supervisors, and on October 20, the Board unanimously approved the rezoning of 145 acres for the Quartz District. That decision cleared the way for over 1,000 homes, nearly 375,000 square feet of office and retail space, and the county’s long-awaited first Whole Foods Market.
Since then, the project has moved into engineering, site preparation, and early residential construction phases, all while awaiting full funding and design finalization for the interchange.
The full buildout of the Quartz District is expected to continue into the early 2030s, with commercial construction beginning after the interchange opens.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Gestl said. “We want to do this right and make it something the county can be proud of.”
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted Tuesday to cancel the long-debated Route 28 Bypass Project, ending years of planning and millions of dollars in studies and design work. The decision, which passed with a 5-3 vote, came after a contentious debate over the feasibility and cost of the project.
Initially estimated to cost more than $200 million, the road would have connected with Route 28 at a signalized intersection north of Bull Run Stream in Fairfax County. The plan to build the road, Alternative 2B, was the top recommendation from the 2017 Route 28 Corridor Feasibility Study. The project had received $89 million in funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) as part of a broader effort to improve the county’s transportation infrastructure.
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Prince William County could soon be home to a new inline hockey rink at the Hylton Boys and Girls Club in Dale City, following an in-depth discussion by the Board of County Supervisors during their December 17, 2024, meeting. The facility results from a partnership between the Boys and Girls Club, Prince William Ice Center, the Washington Capitals, and George Mason University.
Seth Hendler-Voss, the county’s Director of Parks and Recreation, introduced the project, describing it as “an exciting partnership opportunity to bring a new recreation amenity to Prince William County.” He outlined the proposed location and the collaboration required to make the rink a reality.
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Prince William County's Board of Supervisors and School Board members convened at the Kelly Leadership Building to address pressing legislative priorities for 2025. Among the key issues discussed was the urgent need for enhanced authority to mitigate speeding and improve roadway safety throughout the county.
Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry emphasized the ongoing dangers on local roads, including Cardinal Drive, a corridor that has seen multiple fatalities in recent years. He highlighted the limitations of current state-level control over traffic measures, stating, "We need more authority to install speed cameras and implement other speed control measures in non-school and non-construction zones." Angry also criticized the reliance on fatality thresholds before state agencies, such as the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), prioritize action, calling for more proactive measures to save lives.
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Prince William County officials celebrated a milestone today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new six-level parking garage in Woodbridge.
The $53.5 million Potomac/Neabsco Mills Commuter Garage, designed to serve as a park-and-ride hub, represents a significant investment in the region’s transportation infrastructure and is a step toward meeting the growing demands of residents and commuters.
The garage, located just off Opitz Boulevard near the Interstate 95 E-ZPass Express Lanes, opened one day after a new ramp providing direct access from Opitz Boulevard to the express lanes was inaugurated. The garage’s strategic location provides easy access to highways and toll lanes, aiming to alleviate congestion at the nearby Route 1/Route 234 Park and Ride Lot.
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Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part story focused on Prince William Board of County Supervisor At-large Deshundra Jefferson's first 100 days in office. Read part one here.
In the wake of the contentious PW Digital Gateway project and ongoing debates surrounding the Meals Tax, Chair At-large Deshundra Jefferson of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors faces a series of complex decisions as county leaders leave their honeymoon phase and begin on the next three and a half years of their term.
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Prince William County’s Board of Supervisors easily approved the fiscal year 2025 budget with a few changes on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, to take effect on July 1.
Following the April 16 budget markup meeting, the supervisors unanimously approved almost everything on the docket. Notably, the board set the real estate tax rate at 92 cents per $100 assessed value. Multiple supervisors stated that this decision was made to balance the tax burden on residents with data centers.
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Angry seeks a second term on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, representing the Neabsco District. As of today, he has no Republican opponents.
Angry has served on the Board of County Supervisors since 2019, when he won a special election to replace John D. Jenkins, the longest-serving supervisor in county history, after his death in February of that year.
A total of 3,740 ballots were cast in today’s primary.
