ASHBURN, VA. — The joint venture between Miller and Smith and NORTH AMERICA SEKISUI HOUSE has broken ground on Phase I of the 1 million-square-foot Downtown One Loudoun, a mixed-use development located in Ashburn in Loudoun County.

“Downtown One Loudoun will become the new economic focal point for commerce in Loudoun County with a dense, pedestrian-oriented mix of uses and public amenities,” says Bill May, vice president of Miller and Smith.

The first phase will include 210,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space, including an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which is scheduled to open in 2013. The second phase will include a hotel, additional shops and offices, luxury townhomes and multifamily residences. Potomac Development Group has been retained to lease the retail portion of Downtown One Loudon and Cassidy Turley will lease the office space.

The demographics of Loudoun County are very strong. The population in Loudoun County in 2011 was 325,405, up from 312,311 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. From April 2010 to July 2011, the county saw a 4.2 percent increase in population. Additionally, the median household income is approximately $120,000 a year, an 8 percent increase from four years earlier.

“We have designed the downtown area with every detail in mind with superior architecture and advanced urban design principles,” May says. “We are creating a unique environment that seamlessly integrates quality of life with an outstanding retail and business environment.”

The project is the first phase of the 358-acre One Loudoun, a master-planned community that will include 1,040 residential homes, 702,000 square feet of retail space, 3 million square feet of office space, a clubhouse with a pool and an amphitheater.

— Savannah Duncan