Exclusive: With a new McDonalds proposed, Woodbridge residents demand the old one demolished

WOODBRIDGE — A McDonalds on Route 1 in Woodbridge wants to move 800 feet south.

The restaurant has long been perched on a hill on the northbound side of the highway, just north of Marumsco and Jefferson plazas.

The street on which it sits, Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1) is being widened from four to six lanes. When complete in 2021, a concrete median will run down the center of the improved road making it impossible for Big Mac lovers to turn left into the parking lot.

On Thursday, February 21, owners of the McDonalds at 13707 Jefferson Davis Highway in Woodbridge and their attorney, Jonelle Cameron, met with members of the Woodbridge Potomac Communities Civic Association to talk about a proposed move for the fast food joint.

McDonald’s wants to close the old restaurant and build a new 4,500 square foot building on about an acre of land just south of the exisiting location, at Jefferson Plaza abutting Route 1 north at 13761 Jefferson Davis Highway. It would sit on the site of the old Ground Round steakhouse, which burned down about 25 years ago.

Plans for the new McDonalds show a bright, cafe-style building that is a common design with most new restaurants in the chain. Large glass windows would allow passersby to see inside. Unlike the existing McDonalds, there are no plans to include a children’s playground at the new restaurant.

A traffic signal at nearby signal light at Route 1 and Mount Pleasant Road would allow easy access to Jefferson Plaza and the McDonalds, bypassing any constraints with the new concrete median, restuarant owners say Plans for the new restaurant are scheduled to go before the Prince William County Planning Commission in April, and then onto the Board of County Supervisors in June.

While the majority of residents who attended the civic association meeting love the idea of a brand new restaurant in an area in need of revitalization, they’re worried that if the McDonalds on the hill, if left abandoned, could become the target of graffiti artists and became just as blighted as many of the other structures in the neighborhood.

McDonald’s owns the land, and it appears the company wants to keep it. “McDonald’s wouldn’t want a Burger King coming in there,” said Cameron.

Civic association members who spoke want to see McDonald’s pay for the demolition of the old restaurant if the new building is approved.

“It could be there for a long time,” said Chris Brown, of Woodbridge. “Maybe you guys can throw [the demolition] in for goodwill.”

The main buildings at Jefferson Plaza which once housed The HUB Furniture store and others are slated for demolition. The hope, says Cameron, is that a “bigger, nicer, brighter” McDonalds would help attract new development to the longtime blighted plaza.

Others who spoke said the county or a developer should work to buy up multiple parcels of land on which blighted building sit, assemble the parcels into one large property, and lure a large development.

McDonalds has second location on Route 1 in Woodbridge to include a second at 14591 Jefferson Davis Highway at Featherstone Square which has already been demlolished and rebuilt in style simlar to what’s proposed at Jefferson Plaza.