Manassas, VA—July 16, 2025— The Economic Development Authority has secured purchase contracts to acquire three additional properties adjacent to the Manassas Shopping Center on Mathis Avenue. These key parcels will be combined with the larger shopping center property to create a much more valuable and functional site that is primed for redevelopment.

Two of the parcels, at the intersection of Portner and Sudley, comprised the former Scotty’s Texaco facility. An environmental survey of the site shows it was cleaned up responsibly and has no recognized conditions that would impact the cost or type of redevelopment. The third parcel, adjacent to the others, is on Portner and contains a vacant single-family dwelling and some outbuildings. Combined, these properties will add nearly 2 acres to the 17 acres the EDA already owns bringing the total site to almost 20 acres.

20 acres is a significantly sized property in a city as compact as Manassas, especially as close as it is to the Historic Downtown. The three additional properties being purchased also have almost 250 feet of street frontage along Sudley and nearly 400 linear feet along Portner. This will enable the EDA, City, and their development partners to better buffer the residential neighborhood along Portner, enhance access to the site, design better streetscapes, and improve the curb appeal during future road projects and the redevelopment. These attributes, plus being in a gateway entrance for Historic Downtown and located directly across the street from a senior living facility and Annaburg Park, make controlling the parcels essential to redeveloping the Manassas Shopping Center.

The three properties are assessed for approximately $1,500,000 and the contract purchase prices total exactly that, so EDA is paying a fair price to the sellers. More than half of the funding is expected to come from proceeds being generated by the shopping center and the balance from an appropriation by City Council out of its capital reserves, which are established and set aside for this type of project. All public funds being invested in redeveloping the Mathis corridor are expected to be repaid from the future sale of the properties and increased revenues generated by new development. Intangible benefits include beginning to clean up a commercial corridor which has become blighted over the past few decades as well as bringing in new business and residential opportunities planned by the community during the development of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

Community Conversations were recently held by the EDA to receive public input about the project and these parcels were noted by many of the participants as ones which should be controlled by the EDA as opposed to being speculated on by investors looking to profit from the public investments. More information can be found at https://www.manassasva.gov/economic_development/manassas_shopping_center.php and public input is always welcomed by the City and EDA, although the formal comment period for the planning process has ended.