July 6 – 12, 2017
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d ed 1991 • Vol. X X V I I No. 20
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Little City’s Lou Olom To Celebrate 100 Years
When the City Council issued a proclamation last month declaring this coming Monday to be “Lou Olom Day” in honor of Falls Church’s iconic civic activist and education advocate’s 100th birthday on July 10, Olom’s many friends applauded the announcement. See page 4
F.C. Distillery Could Open Saturday
If all goes as planned, the firstever distillery in The Little City, Falls Church Distillers, will debut on S. Washington St. this Saturday.
F.C. Leaders Cautioned to Avoid Limits on Campus Development A Little City 4th
Consultants Urge City Team to ‘Invite Density, Innovation’
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
account the projects’ added cost to the City, including to its schools. The gross tax revenues they generate are $10.6 million annually, and the net $3.8 million sum deducts the cost of operational support costs to the City, including the cost of educating the approximately 200 (the estimated range is 174 to 219 as two of the newest proj-
Buoyed by last week’s news that both Target and Aldi will be opening retail outlets in downtown Falls Church over the next two years, the Economic Development Committee of the George Mason Campus Working Group was open to the advice of its consultants to place almost no limits on the kind of commercial and retail development that it should invite to bid on the 10 acres of that 34-acre site that are set apart for that purpose. “Don’t require limitations,” spokesmen for the Alvarez and Marsal consultants told the committee reps in what they said was a highly unusual open meeting at City Hall last Friday morning. Usually, they said, they advise such things in closed door sessions, but the City has made a deliberate effort to keep these meetings open to the public to help ensure a high level of public support for the process, which will require an approval for an expensive school bond referendum in November. “There are some risks in this level of transparency,” a spokesman said. “Normally we never do this in public.” But the consultant team led by Ted Rich stressed over and over again that to encourage the best and highest yielding use for the land, the City should step back and encourage the development community to come forward with its best shot. “It’s important to encourage industry innovation,” they said,
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See page 15
Frank Bruni: Chris Christie’s Tutorial in Hubris
We can scoff and sneer at those images of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on his beachfront imperium, or we can learn from them. See page 14
Press Pass with Dia Frampton
With a show at Jammin’ Java slated for this Friday, Dia Frampton chatted with the NewsPress about her past exploits and what the future holds for this rising star. See page 16
IT RAINED HEAVILY a couple hours before, but it was clear and warm for the annual Falls Church fireworks show at George Mason High School Tuesday night as the usual crowds assembled for the annual hometown event. (Photo: Gary Mester)
New Report Cites Robust Fiscal Gains of Mixed Use
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial..................6 Letters....................6 News & Notes.10–11 Comment........ 12–14 Food & Dining......15 Calendar........18–19
Business News....20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........21 Critter Corner.......22 Classified Ads......23
The Falls Church City Manager’s office last week issued a blockbuster updated “Mixed Use Development Fiscal Impact Report” showing that eight completed mixed-use (combined residential and retail) projects that have been built and occupied in the City since The Broadway
launched the trend in 2003 collectively have given an enormous boost to the City. The projects, taken together, generate a net $3.8 million a year to the City, equal to almost nine cents on the real estate tax rate, compared to $571,000 a year that their combined 18.5 acres were generating for the City before. The net revenue takes into