Developer Proffers for Transportation

The Washington Post has a jaw dropping article this morning related to jumbo transportation proffers being offered by developers in Northern Virginia.

• Prince William County--Developer of a 6,800 unit property is proffering $130 million, or $19,117 per home, to help overhaul I-66 and US 29 interchange.
• Loudoun County--Developer of 15,000 units proffering $200 million, or $13,333 per home, including $20 million for a new road interchange on Rt. 50.

How does this compare to local residential projects near major road intersections?  Having recently reviewed the Albemarle Place project, I came up with the following:

Albemarle Place--Developer of 750 residential units (2003 rezoning states 700-800 units) proffering $5.46 million, or $7,280 per home.

I used documented cash proffers plus developer's estimate of $3 million in off-site transportation improvements. Albemarle Place is a mixed use development with hotels, restaurants, movie theater, and retail.  In August 2003, it was projected to have a positive fiscal impact contributing $2.6 to $3.6 million annually to Albemarle County.  Pure residential projects are always a negative cash drain on the locality, primarily because of school costs with annual per-child costs far exceeding the per houshold one-time cash proffers of a typical development.

I am not familiar with mix of uses in the residential developments cited in the article.  However, the point is that in Charlottesville/Albemarle proffers to build something like a grade-separated interchange at Hydraulic and US 29 have been unheard of.  Maybe the times are changing.  The article outlines some of the pros and cons of accepting these large proffers.

Brian Wheeler