Groundbreaking held for Potomac Shores VRE station in eastern Prince William County

Members of the Board of County Supervisors participated in the groundbreaking for the new Virginia Railway Express (VRE) station in eastern Prince William County.

The facility is being built by SunCal as a public-private partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia to provide necessary transportation infrastructure and a key amenity to SunCal’s Potomac Shores community.

The VRE station will provide 550 commuter parking spaces, and is scheduled to open in 2017, according to a news release.

Supervisors Maurine S. Caddigan, Martine E. Nohe, John D. Jenkins and W.S. “Wally” Covington II, along with Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, broke ground at the site for the future Potomac Shores Town Center, located on the Cherry Hill Peninsula off US 1.

Caddigan said the project is critical to the future of the community. A county news release quoted her as saying, “The station will help establish the town center, position the development as a transit-oriented hub and take thousands of commuters off the road.”

The news release quoted the governor as saying the new station would “unlock” the region’s traffic gridlock and spur economic development opportunities in Prince William County. “You cannot grow an economy if your transportation system doesn’t work. Today’s groundbreaking is a key part of my transportation package, and the new Potomac Shores VRE station will be a vital link to the region’s network.”

Potomac Shores development, home to a public Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, will also include a resort hotel and conference center,  a new elementary and middle school, 3.7 million square feet of retail space, sports fields and a 100-slip marina among other amenities. This project reflects the quality of development that is being produced in Prince William County, according to Caddigan.

She described it as a “catalyst to spur the economic engine for the county and the region for years and years to come… VRE and other transportation options will continue to make Potomac Shores a destination of choice for people and businesses. It will bring a new lifestyle to the shores of the Potomac River in Prince William County and all of Northern Virginia. This is a great day for Prince William County.”