Prince William County says it is being forced to build a much-needed commuter parking lot along the Interstate 95 corridor after a builder stopped construction on a massive development near Quantico.

The dispute is another sign of how the real estate downturn is hitting local governments facing difficult budget decisions.

Construction delays at the 2,000-acre Harbor Station resort community along the Potomac River shore has postponed the developer’s contributions for some projects, including a lot designed to help get 500 drivers off the congested U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 95 corridors.

The construction has been postponed for years because of poor market conditions as property values plummeted, county officials said.

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Although the developer, Kettler, has committed to refund the cost of the projects once its campaign to build 4,000 homes, a marina and conference center hotel moves further along, the slowdown means the county must juggle other endeavors to build the lot now.

“Because they didn’t get the job done, now the county has to take care of it at the expense of other projects,” Prince William County Chairman Corey Stewart said at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting.

Other supervisors blamed the downturn on the economy more than the developer, noting the company has pledged to pay its share in the future, as construction moves forward.

But Stewart, unsatisfied, said developers granted permission for major projects need to follow through with their promises.

Supervisor Wally Covington quipped that notoriously slow-growth chairman “Mr. Stewart was saying he would like to have the houses built.”

Representatives from Kettler did not return calls for comment Wednesday.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com