8-20-2015

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August 20 - 26, 2015

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. XXV No. 26

Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads

Inside This Week F.C. Has Lowest Credit Card Debt in Virginia

Residents of Falls Church ranked most fiscally responsible with their plastic in Virginia and 13th in the nation, according to a new study that measured credit card debt against income and wealth. See page 10

$37K in House Fire Damage in Pimmit Hills A fire in the Pimmit Hills section of the greater Falls Church area last Saturday afternoon caused an estimated $37,500 in damage to a single-family townhouse, the Fairfax County Fire Department reported. Investigators have ruled the fire as accidental.

Developer Todd Hitt’s Commitment To Falls Church Knows No Limits B ack in A ction

Harris Teeter, Broad & Washington Plans Only the Beginning by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

tion which continues to operate as the Independence Square, a twostory office condo complex that is home to an assemblage of small hair dresser, doctor and insurance offices, among others. The sale involved the first effort by the City to get into the development business, itself, by purchasing two parcels of land and then selling them to developer who was committed to the City’s desire for the low-density approach. This is according to the

In addition to what he’s already done and announced he wants to do, at least three new projects in Falls Church are in the planning mind of Todd Hitt, the Northern Virginia native and energetic real estate visionary. Hitt, the principle force behind two major mixed use projects within blocks of each other in Falls Church’s center city – the Harris Teeter building now well under construction in the 300 block of W. Broad and the proposed major development on 2.3 acres reportedly to include a Whole Foods superstore on the southeast corner of Broad and Washington – has still more in store for the Little City. He has the Stratford Hotel property under contract, located directly across the street from the Harris Teeter project, wants to help with an expansion of the State Theatre, now a live music venue located adjacent the BroadWashington property, and talks of the merits of a downtown walking mall somewhere nearby. Be assured that there will be more, too, because he has impressed us as having a genuine liking for Falls Church, due partly because it was a childhood stomping ground for him, partly because of the high regard he holds for City staff and officials, and partly because the demographics and other factors of the City that make it prime turf for development success. Hitt, who graduated from nearby Yorktown High School in N. Arlington, used to be all over Falls

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See News Briefs, page 9

Paul Krugman: Republicans Against Retirement

Something strange is happening in the Republican primary – something strange, that is, besides the Trump phenomenon. See page 14

Press Pass with Joe Louis Walker

Blues guitarist Joe Louis Walker has a firm understanding of the difference between pop prosperity and musical talent, and short-term and long-term success in the music industry. See page 21

GEORGE MASON HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL’s star senior running back D’Montae Noble breaks a run against Brentsville High School’s defense during the Mustangs’ scrimmage against the Tigers last Friday, Aug. 14, in Falls Church. (Photo: Gary Mester)

How 1980s Anti-Development Bias Constrained Falls Church’s Growth by Nicholas F. Benton

Falls Church News-Press

Index Editorial..................6 Letters.............. 6, 11 News & Notes.12-13 Comment........14-17 Business News....18 Food & Dining......19

Calendar.........22-23 Classified Ads .....24 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword...........25 Critter Corner.......26

Longtime Northern Virginia Real Estate developer Ross W. Keith died at age 86 after a lengthy illness at his home last week, and among other things the occasion spurred recollections in Falls Church of Keith’s central role in the 1970s development at the City’s central intersection where Routes 29 (Washington St.) and 7 (Broad St.) cross. As Falls Church is now about to consider a massive

new mixed use development on 3.6 acres at the same intersection, just across the street on property that is now the Robertson Building, the story of how the low-density twostory Independence Square that Keith purchased and developed has resurfaced in the context of Keith’s passing. In 1978, after years of discussion and debate in the City, Keith won the bid to purchase 1.68 acres of land the City of Falls Church had acquired at the southeast corner of the intersec-


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8-20-2015 by Falls Church News-Press - Issuu