Construction Begins on New Store's Gainesville Location

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Images: The last remaining structure at the old Betco Block Plant is demolished Monday to make room for a new Cabela’s store on 13 acres near Interstate 66 and Route 29 (Prince William County).

Two photos displayed at Monday’s ceremony show a Cabela’s store, left, and the Betco Block Plant in its heyday (Prince William County).

Release: Prince William County

There’s a new Cabela’s coming to Prince William County, and the company expects to bring roughly 190 jobs with the opening of the outdoor and sporting goods store. The 79,000-square-foot store will be located on 13 acres at 5291 Wellington Branch Drive in Gainesville.

To make room for construction of the new store, Peterson Companies, which is developing the site, had to knock down a tower left over from the old Betco Block Plant, which opened in 1967 to manufacture cinder blocks. The tower was demolished Monday morning in a ceremony attended by local dignitaries, including Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

Stewart said the demolition of the tower represents a changing county. “This is obviously a very valuable, very visible location as you’re driving through Prince William County off of I-66. This is yet another step in the renewal and the increasing vibrancy of Prince William County as we move on, tear down some of the old. We’re building more and more infrastructure, more retail, more office, more everything in Prince William County, and the quality of life is just continuing to improve in this community.”

Brentsville District Supervisor Jeanine Lawson said that people in her district are looking forward to the new store, which is expected to draw shoppers from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

“Cabela’s locating right here in [the] Brentsville District is so exciting,” she said. “This is a great economic boost. It’ll provide local jobs for Brentsville residents – Gainesville, I’m sure, too. I know a lot of outdoorsmen are so ready to come shopping here. The community is excited. We’ve been anticipating this in the last few months. So, we can’t wait for it to come to fruition.”

According to a Peterson Companies press release, the new Cabela’s store will be the first in the D.C. metropolitan area and the third in Virginia.