One Loudoun's New Lawn Was Built to Freeze. Here's What Its First Winter Looks Like.

The company that laid the grass in front of Bartaco described the job plainly on its own project page. KT Enterprises wrote:

"One of the newer and more unique areas at One Loudoun is an artificial turf area that can be removed in the wintertime and transformed into an ice skating rink."

The lawn on the north side was designed to be pulled up when the weather turns. So this is the first winter that Ashburn's best-known town center has something to do outdoors after the Santa photos are over. The new block was planned around that change, and its restaurants and shops sit along the lawn's edges.

The rink was in the plan before the restaurant had a floor

In early April, the construction fences came down around One Loudoun's expansion area after Arhaus opened. The Burn walked the new block and found the Bartaco building standing, with gravel still inside while it waited for utilities and a poured floor. In the same report, The Burn said the grassy, park-like plaza in front of Bartaco "will be turned into an ice rink for skating in the winter."

So the rink was part of the design from the start. KT Enterprises put in the turf in May 2026, working with general contractor L F Jennings, and its crew finished the installation in one day. A surface that goes in that fast can come out just as easily, and the space was built to do exactly that.

The lawn is part of a larger project. One Loudoun is owned and operated by Kite Realty Group. According to the Loudoun Times-Mirror, its expansion includes 86,000 square feet of new retail, a full-service business hotel, 33,000 square feet of office space and nearly 400 multifamily residences.

How the north side filled its first year

Read in order, the expansion's 2026 milestones show the outdoor space taking shape alongside the businesses around it.

1. April: Arhaus opens at 20312 Exchange St., and the fences around the new block come down.
2. May: Alo opens at 20302 Exchange St., and the removable turf goes in.
3. June: Tatte opens at 20300 Exchange St.
4. Summer: The Park, a new gathering space on One Loudoun's north side, hosts concerts, movie nights and the Moonlight Market.
5. September: Bartaco holds its soft opening at 20365 Exchange St., Ste. 211.
6. October 15: Monkee's of Loudoun opens at 20366 Exchange St.
7. October 30: The Moonlight Market holds its last Friday of the season.
8. December 5: The 14th Annual Tree Lighting lists The Rink at One Loudoun as "New This Year."

The summer schedule was full. The Times-Mirror listed Movie Nights at the Park on three Thursdays, a Summer Sting Series of live music on Friday evenings through Sept. 4, and the Moonlight Market at The Park on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. from Aug. 14 to Oct. 30. Asia In a Bite, a free outdoor Asian street food festival, ran its final weekend Oct. 17 and 18. By early November, that outdoor calendar had run its course. The rink is the north side's answer for the colder months.

December 5 is when the tree and the rink first share a night

One Loudoun's tree lighting is in its 14th year, so the tree is the familiar part. The rink is the new part. A community-submitted Patch listing for the 14th Annual Tree Lighting puts the event on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, at One Loudoun, 20365 Exchange St. The planned program:

• Santa arrives on a fire truck, then joins community leaders for the countdown, with the tree lit at about 5:30 p.m.
• Free photos with Santa in front of the tree on the plaza, running until 8 p.m.
• Performances, including the Dance Academy of Loudoun Dance Collective, plus strolling entertainers.
• Free train rides, ornament making, letters to Santa and giveaways.
• A beer garden hosted by The Lost Fox.
• New this year, The Rink at One Loudoun and photo spots with Icey the Penguin.

The event is free and open to the public, and the listing gives no rain date. One Loudoun keeps a dedicated page for The Rink, so look there before you bring skaters.

What sits around the ice

The north block's food tenants sit within a short walk of the ice.

Bartaco faces the lawn directly. Northern Virginia Magazine describes its beach house-inspired dining room and a menu that includes pork belly tacos, cotija corn dip and passionfruit Oaxaca margaritas. The same article says the restaurant's front lawn becomes the skating rink in winter.

Tatte at 20300 Exchange St. covers mornings, with shakshuka, chicken salad sandwiches and cinnamon sugar morning buns.

Van Leeuwen at 20290 Exchange St., Building 5, Ste. 130 is the brand's third Virginia location. Its menu includes a malted cookie dough shake, strawberry matcha and a coffee affogato.

The rest of the block suits holiday shopping. Arhaus has in-store design consultants for anyone planning a room before guests arrive. Monkee's of Loudoun, a boutique selling women's clothing, accessories, gifts and shoes, marked its opening with a four-day celebration that began Oct. 15, according to its release.

The block's footprint is still growing, and store sizes vary widely. Northern Virginia Magazine's October roundup lists these tenants:

L.L. Bean stands out on that list. The magazine notes it would be the brand's first Northern Virginia store since its Tysons location closed in January 2022. The Pottery Barn building alone is more than three times the size of Free People Movement's reported space. The scale of what is coming suggests Kite Realty is building the north side to draw people all year, and the rink gives that plan a reason to work in winter.

Ashburn Ice House handles what an outdoor rink can't

An outdoor rink depends on the weather. For skating on a set schedule, Ashburn Ice House remains the indoor option. Its public skating page requires advance registration, notes that sessions are non-refundable, and rents both hockey and figure skates. For younger skaters, Playground on Ice serves ages 2 to 9 at $18 per child. That price covers one adult chaperone's admission and skate rental for both, and each additional adult is $18.

The rink also stages its own holiday event the weekend after One Loudoun's tree lighting. Combined, the two venues fill the first half of December:

Show tickets are for bleacher seats, so buying online ahead of time saves $2 per seat over the door price.

For a different outdoor rink, Reston's outdoor ice-skating pavilion was set to open Nov. 6, weather permitting, according to FXVA's November guide. From Ashburn, though, the closest new outdoor ice is now the lawn in front of Bartaco, which spent the summer under turf.

If you want help with a move this winter, whether you're looking for a home close to One Loudoun's new north block or getting your current Ashburn house ready to list before spring, I'd be glad to talk it through. Jo & Co can walk you through how that corner of Ashburn is changing. Let's Connect.