Today’s Washington Post has an article about the frustration that many residents of Prince William County have that the county seems to have been passed over when it comes to high-end retail amenities:
So much for the Jag dealership, the Presidents Cup, the white-coat lab jobs at Eli Lilly.
At least Wegmans is still coming.
That has been the refrain recently in hard-luck Prince William County, where old insecurities have resurfaced and hopes ride on the promise of a high-end supermarket.
In recent years, as massive colonials and country clubs have appeared, the county seemed to be irreversibly shedding its image as the declasse rural relative of Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Developers and real estate agents were eager to assure home buyers that the bulldozers had plowed under Prince William’s former image for good. But though many residents are confident that the makeover is continuing, a series of setbacks in recent months has left others again feeling that pea of doubt about the county’s reputation.
Last month, the PGA Tour announced that the Presidents Cup will not return to the Robert Trent Jones golf course in Gainesville, picking San Francisco instead. Drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. has halted the construction of its $325 million plant in Manassas, electing to tear down the half-built facility and ship hundreds of jobs elsewhere. And no Jaguar dealership is coming to the county after all, despite long-standing rumors.
So when someone asks Haymarket resident Jennifer Smith where she lives, she balks a little, even though it is an area stocked with $1 million homes.
“I’m hesitant to say Prince William County, because of its reputation,” said Smith, a Fairfax native who bought a home in Dominion Valley three years ago. “At least now they’re categorizing this as ‘Western Prince William.’ ”
Certainly there are greater injustices in the world than the absence of a Nordstrom in Prince William. But just as luxury goods confer status on people, a county’s prestige is often measured by its retail brands and restaurants. Although the latest census data show Prince William to be the seventh-wealthiest county in the country, it does not have a single fancy hotel or foreign luxury car dealership. Fine dining options are few.
“My wife and I were delighted to get a Ruby Tuesday, because other than McDonald’s and Taco Bell, there wasn’t a whole lot around here,” said Southbridge resident Lin Taylor, who has a $700,000 home near the Potomac River and a sleek BMW in the driveway. “People who are not familiar with the area think Prince William is still trailer parks and used-car lots. It’s not the same community it used to be; it’s much more affluent.”
Faced with the paucity of shopping and dining options, residents head for the highways, just as they do to get to work, and return to Fairfax or Loudoun for a nice meal or expensive birthday gift.
Where this really hits home for Kellie and I is when it comes to dining options. Outside of chain restaurants and several nice places in Old Town Manassas, the dining options in Prince William County are pretty limited. Unlike some of the people quoted in the article, the fact that there’s an Applebee’s or Ruby Tuesday nearby means nothing to me. Out in Fairfax and Loudoun, they have places like Coastal Flats and Brio and let’s not even get started about King Street in Alexandria, or the restaurants in Downtown D.C.
Until that changes, the roads to Tysons will continue to be crowded.
March 9th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Funny how the Post published an article on the previous day’s front page describing how Arlington’s Hispanic population can no longer afford living there and they are now flocking to PW county. PW has long suffered from its Fairfax wanna-be aspirations instead of forging its own identity. Corey Stewart and his fellow board members are so fixated on their tiny affluent population that they cannot see or serve the vast majority of solidly middle and working class residents that PW attacts and retains. I still can’t figure out what’s so great about owning a million dollar home that requires a horrendous commute.
March 9th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
[...] of Doug over at Below The Beltway, we see the Washington Post has tried to apply it’s own standard of quality of life towards [...]
March 9th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Oh you poor darlings. Let me take you back to the good old days in Nokesville (1960s, early 1970s). If you couldn’t find it in Manassas, you went to Warrenton. Back then, there were lots of nice family owned type places around. Ben and Mary’s just outside of Marshall was a favorite. It’s like that old bumper sticker from the late 90s “If You Leave Now You Can Be Back In Jersey By Dinner Time”.
March 10th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
I agree - POOR BABY it’s sad to hear that all you folks feel you have to go elsewhere to find something good to eat. If you only knew how to cook a good meal you could stay home to eat. Keep our country green by not poluting the air by driving so much just to have a fancy meal.
March 10th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
You are correct.
I love getting in my gas-guzzling SUV and driving up to Tysons Corner and getting a nice thick steak with some trans-fat
March 10th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Tysons? Hell back in my day, I66 stopped at the beltway. The “Good Stuff” was in Georgetown, and before the city was taken over by the asshats, it was actually a safe place to take the family.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:41 am
For some insane reason the Prince William County Department of Economic Development and it’s Executive Director Martin Briley insist that their focus remain dedicated to one section of the county called Innovation for the purpose of selling real estate and attracting good paying jobs to the county.
It’s time they get re-focused county-wide and stop acting like someone said a bad word when inquiring about retail. High end retail is long past due. Prince William is the 7th richest county in the Nation and service based businesses will prosper here.
I’m hopeful our new Chairman, Corey Stewart will turn things around, in the mean time I have no choice but to add to the traffic congestion and contribute to our dependency on foreign oil.
Until I have other options, I have no choice but to waste fuel traveling to Fairfax for all my shopping, dining and even a good hair stylist.
March 14th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
While I love the beauty of PW County…I mean, some days when I’m going north on PW Pkwy I can’t believe how pretty the mountains look in the distance…I wouldn’t mind a few upscale shops/retailers. If nothing else, I would think that the tax revenue brought in on those places would be a little higher than the current mid-to-upper-midlevel retailers, especially in light of the recent changes in Presidents Cup venues and the Eli Lilley debaucle. We are looking at a potential $30M deficit in the county budget…this might be one way to garner a few extra dollars without taxing its citizens or continuing to flood the home market with more houses (and congestion). And by the way, most of us in “Western” PW County are NOT embarassed by our county, nor do we want to be like Fairfax or Loudoun counties. I think only that one woman from Haymarket is…and honestly, if she thinks there’s such a negative stigma in saying that you are a resident of PW County, then she should consider paying twice as much for her house to go back to Fairfax county.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
I was transferred to here from Charlottesville 12 years ago this was the nearest to the city I wanted to be. We now call the area I live in Manexico. Why any company would relocate it’s employees to this used car lot would be insane. Western PW is just Loudoun extended and the rejuvination of RT. 1
is an attempt to lipstick on a pig. This county has been mismanaged so long it will always be looked down on. I’m glad I kept my property in Albermarle County.