Get ready for Gateway

MANASSAS, Va. — It’s called the city’s first waterfront development. When it opens, it may not be called “Gateway.”

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Tuesday, December 13, at 2:30 p.m. at the Manassas Gateway property located at 10500 Gateway Boulevard next to the Manassas DMV. The site is where 270 new townhomes, 112 condos, a 125-room hotel, retail, and commercial offices will be built.

Located on large storm retention pond on Cannon Branch just off Prince William Parkway, it is one of the last large undeveloped sites in Manassas. It would be the city’s only “waterfront” property.

The development is expected to tie into businesses at the Manassas Regional Airport, the largest municipal airfield in the state, as well as Innovation Park, home of multiple technology companies, FBI, and George Mason University Science and Technology Campus located just across the boundary line in Prince William County.

Officials have labored under the working name of “Manassas Gateway” since the project was approved last fall. On Tuesday, officials are expected to announce a new name for the project on Tuesday.

In addition to homes, a pedestrian plaza will connect all of the commercial buildings, and surface parking lots will be built at the site. An additional four buildings, to be built down the line, will require a covered parking deck.

An expansion study underway now at Virginia Railway Express could recommend moving the Broad Run Station about 2 miles east, relocating it to the Gateway Development. Transit officials Wednesday night said that developments at or near VRE stations traditionally attract more business than developments outside VRE stations.