September 3 – 9, 2020
FA LLS CHUR C H, V I R G I NI A • WW W. FC NP. C OM • FR EE
FOU N D E D 1991 • V OL. X XX NO. 29
T�� C��� �� F���� C�����’� I����������, L������-O���� N�������� �� R�����, S������ N. V�������
Crea�ve Cauldron Speaks Up For Downtown Project Theater Group’s New Venue Tied To Its Completion BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
As the Falls Church City Council prepares to reconsider modified plans for the Whole Foods development project at the City’s central intersection of Broad and Washington Streets, a major beneficiary of the project has begun vocalizing its support for its completion in the past week. The Creative Cauldron, a homegrown theater with some of the more successful performance and educational programs in the Little City’s history, has been promised 5,000 square feet for an expanded venue as a part of the Broad and Washington project. It may even rival the 50,000 square foot megaWhole Foods store as a principal benefit to the community and wider public draw of the 2.46 acre new development. Buoyed by the news that the female lead in its 2019 homegrown and world premiere production of “On Air” won a D.C. region-wide Helen Hayes award Monday (see story, elsewhere this edition), volunteer board members of the Creative Cauldron non-profit have mobilized a letter writing campaign urging the City Council’s approval of the overall project. That includes a long list of some of the most prominent members of the community, such as
former Vice Mayor Marty Meserve. If the Council agrees to move ahead with the project during its virtual work session Tuesday night, it will set up a preliminary decision to be made at its next business meeting on Sept. 14, tentatively followed by a town hall presentation on Oct.7 and a final council vote later next month. The major mixed use proposal was given unanimous approval earlier by the Council in April 2018, but got sidetracked when a major partner in the project, Todd Hitt, was arrested, found guilty and sentenced to a stiff prison term for running a ponzi-like scheme in the region. The Insight Group, major developers in the region, retained ownership of the 2.46 acres but had to resubmit a new plan without the Hitt component, which was mostly for Class A office space that Hitt’s company itself would occupy. Its new submission last November did not sit well with the Council for its lack of office space but now, if anything, one big impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been to crush demand for office space throughout the region. To make the project work financially, Insight increased the number of residential rental units to 350 with 613 total parking spaces. The plan involves the acquisition of the
Continued on Page 5
T�� D���� L���� O�
THE NIGHT BEFORE the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington was commemoreated in Washington, D.C., Jefferson Village Civic Association held its own Candlelight March in its neighborhood in greater Falls Church. Over 150 people attended to show support for the dream Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. professed at the original march in 1963, that “People will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. “ (P����: S�� S���)
Private Schools Rewarded For Reopening Classes BY MATT DELANEY
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
Local private schools are venturing where public schools have yet to go by welcoming students back into the classroom either full or part-time this week. Some of the advantages private educa-
tion already has baked into their schools double as Covid-19prevention tactics, and that seems to be appreciated by parents who are looking to either enroll, transfer or keep their kids in class. “People are ready for their children to come back to school,” Dr. Edwin Gordon, the head of
Congressional School, said. “They know the value of an education that a school like ours can provide to young children as well as the social and emotional nourishment. Children need to be with their peers, and for many of our fami-
Continued on Page 4
I����� T��� W��� C������� �� S���� F.C. S����� N���� OK’� B� B����
H����-O� H������ M��� C������� D����� L��������
I������ G���� C������� F���� G���� ���� M���������� U����
SEE NEWS BRIEFS., PAGE 8
SEE STORY, PAGE 19
SEE BUSINESS NEWS, PAGE 25
The Falls Church School Board Tuesday night voted unanimously to let the Herndonbased K-12 Insight conduct surveys regarding changing the names of George Mason High and Thomas Jefferson Elementary on grounds that Founding Fathers were slave owners.
Social distancing brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic might have exacerbated the co-dependence on technology for some, but throughout Falls Church and Seven Corners, a quiet rebellion of people breaking away from the screens can be seen at the checkout counters.
Insight Property Group completed its conversion of Falls Green into a 576-unit multifamily market rate apartment cmplex. The property was previously known as Oakwood Apartments and was used primarily for short-term government and corporate housing.
INDEX
Editorial............................................... 6 Letters........................................... 6,19 News & Notes............................. 10,11 Comment ................................ 7,12,13 Crime Report .................................... 12 Calendar ........................................... 14 Business News ................................. 15 Classified Ads ................................... 16 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 17 Critter Corner.................................... 18