With eight acres of the parcel located outside of Leesburg city limits, only 150 of the 158 acres--all of which are bound by Route 7, Tuscarora Creek, Route 653 and KSI-owned Goose Creek Golf Course--are at issue here. The Leesburg land is currently zoned for industrial and office use, and the zoning department has rejected rezoning proposals for the same parcel in the past.

So, KSI's pursuit is hardly a sure thing, as is further evidenced by the fact that officials are currently evaluating the second plan KSI submitted for the project. If things go KSI's way there will be a change in zoning the zoning for an 89-acre chunk of the parcel to allow office, retail and hotel development; and the remaining 61 acres would have to be rezoned to accommodate office, retail and housing offerings.

The Village at Leesburg, which would serve as an eastern gateway to the town, is one of a handful of large mixed-use projects being planned in the area. Paul Peterson has proposed the 126-acre Leegate project, which would feature 800,000 sf of retail, in addition to a 200-unit condominium segment. Centex Homes has Meadowbrook of Leesburg, a 326-acre site that would feature over 1,300 residences, 165,000 sf of retail, and 110,00 sf of office space; and Keane Enterprises is moving forward with Oaklawn at Stratford, which would offer 1.3 million sf of offices, 100,000 sf of retail, a hotel and more than 300 residences on a 168-acre parcel.