My name is Frank J. Principi and I am the Prince William Board of County Supervisor representing the Woodbridge Magisterial District. This is the first article in a five-part series exploring the Woodbridge district. I will provide my insights about Woodbridge by examining four distinctive lifestyle centers in our community. In this first piece, I want to give a 30,000 feet overview of the Woodbridge district and its lifestyle centers.

The four lifestyle centers are Belmont Bay, Potomac Town Center, North Woodbridge and Harbor Station. My series will illustrate the connection between these lifestyle centers and the future of Woodbridge.

Woodbridge is situated between the Potomac River to the east and the Occoquan River to the north. It sits thirty miles outside the nation's capital, Washington DC. U.S. Route 1 runs through the center of Woodbridge and serves as the major roadway for the district with multiple access points onto Interstate 95. There are two rail stations, six marinas and a commuter parking lot for travel options. It is within eight miles of two major military bases, Quantico Marine Base and Fort Belvoir.

Other amenities include two wildlife refuges, eleven parks, a nationally accredited community college and a 153-bed hospital. An eight-mile portion of a congressional designated scenic trail, the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, winds through the Woodbridge District. Historical sites are littered throughout the district including Rippon Lodge, the oldest home in Prince William County. Woodbridge offers many assets that will appeal to different audiences.

My past involvement in the community has told me that to be successful, there needs to be a vision. The vision of a New Woodbridge is the guiding doctrine to move the Woodbridge community into the future. This vision is built on three pillars: economic development, alternative transportation/transit options and the preservation of our existing neighborhoods.

The vision includes economic redevelopment through the construction of mixed use projects – eliminating strip malls – that are built according to the ten national smart growth principles (including a range of housing options, walkable neighborhoods, stakeholder collaboration, the protection of open spaces, parks, etc.) that will attract a range of office, retail, restaurant and residential in close proximity to each other. 

The vision includes the creation of 10,000 high-paying jobs that will keep us working in Prince William County, shorten our commutes and alleviate some of the traffic gridlock that occupies our day and takes us away from our families.

The vision also includes a range of transit alternatives to U.S. Route 1 and I-95. We can, and should use a water ferry service on the Occoquan, Potomac and Anacostia rivers to transport commuters, tourists, and be used, if necessary, to evacuate people out of the District of Columbia in a natural or man-made disaster.  The last blue highway can help alleviate the gridlock and help us think wiser, not always wider (roads). 

Planning efforts are underway to promote the water ferry system, Bus Rapid Transit and the extension of Metrorail from Springfield south along the existing I-95 corridor to Potomac Mills Mall. The population explosion we have experienced since the early 90s has positioned us to consider each of these out-of-the-box options and determine what is the best use of taxpayer revenue.

Finally, the vision of a new Woodbridge integrates both mature neighborhoods with newer neighborhoods to create a greater sense of community – a sense of place - in Woodbridge. The best examples of the vision are the four different lifestyle centers that exist throughout the Woodbridge community.  

The four lifestyle centers, connected by the Potomac River, provide Woodbridge a unique situation where the elements of the vision converge. As future columns here will describe, each Center will have its very own distinct personality, including streetscape, architecture, density, building designs and open space. Each Center will have its own amenities, resident demographics, job clusters and transit alternatives. The next article in the series will detail the neo-traditional community of Belmont Bay. In the interim, please visit www.NewWoodbridge.org for more information.

Frank J. Principi
Woodbridge District Supervisor
Prince William Board of County Supervisors