Letters to the Editor: F.C. City Must Push Through With The Downtown Project

FCNP.com

2020-10-12in

Letters to the Editor: October 8 – 14, 2020

F.C. City Must Push Through With The Downtown Project

Editor,

No matter what decision the Falls Church City Council makes about the Broad and Washington development, there will be people who are unhappy.

Some people will never support the project, no matter what accommodations are made.

A “Yes” decision on the Broad and Washington development will provide the following to everyone in Falls Church:

The City will receive approximately $2 million in tax revenues per year.
The City will receive payment for the existing City parking lot and after construction is complete will have 64 free public parking spaces available in the center of the City.
In addition to the 64 free public parking spaces, the center of the City will have an additional 76 public pay to park spaces. The Whole Foods grocery, Creative Cauldron, other commercial users, and residents will have their own parking in the garage.
During construction, the developer is providing 65 off-site parking spaces that are 40 to 120 feet from the existing restaurants for their customers to use. The developer is also working on a plan to provide lunchtime parking spaces for the two restaurants during the three to six-month period when there will be no on-site parking.
During construction, the developer is offering to compensate retailers to help offset their rent to minimize any additional impact of the project on their parking and business.
The City will have approximately 13,820 square feet (10 percent of the site) of green space for public use, including a public plaza and a passive walking park area.
The City will have 21 new affordable housing units in perpetuity.
Instead of building office space that will remain empty due to the changing business models that have become the norm since Covid-19, the developer is providing nine live/work units, with the option to add 18 more, that will address the new work from home model.
The residential units will provide the density needed to nourish our small businesses and restaurants and bring vitality to the center of the City.
There will finally be a “there there,’ a lively diverse live-work-play area in downtown Falls Church.

We support moving forward with the Broad and Washington project and all the benefits it will provide the City, its residents, and the surrounding communities that visit, work in, and regularly patronize businesses in the Falls Church City.

Gina Caceci, Martha Meserve, Michael Diener, Mark Werblood, Rich and Elizabeth Meade, Nicole Johnston, David Ortiz, Nicholas Benton, Laura Connors Hull, Andrea Robles, PhD, Solon Simmons, PhD, Rob Donovan, Jeff Thiebert, Becky Manicone, Andres Jordan, Sharon Van Duizend.

Falls Church

Quote In School Name Change Story Not Accurate

Editor,

Since I feel that my words stated in the past week’s article were taken out of context, I wish to state for the record what my stance is. The new high school being built in Falls Church should have a new name. One that inspires humanity and decency, as well as one that denounces the sins of the past and crimes against humanity. The problem with honoring the Southern Founding Fathers and the Founder of the Confederacy is that they both viciously and brutally denied African Americans their humanity. Creating a false narrative as to why they should do so and justifying their actions and torturous tactics.

We must not continue to honor a past that we now recognize is not true to our better nature. The history of slavery and the lessons learned from the Confederacy are not who we say we are. If we say we are, ”… the land of the free and the home of the brave.” And if we also say that we have, “…liberty and justice for all”, we cannot honor those who would deny humanity to someone based on the color of their skin or the race, sexual orientation or religion they belong to.

Change the names so that we can find names that inspire and advocate an honorable future.

Edwin Henderson

Falls Church

Letters to the Editor may be submitted to letters@fcnp.com or via our online form here. Letters should be limited to 350 words and may be edited for content, clarity and length. To view the FCNP’s letter and submission policy, please click here.