The 'New Falls Church'

March 1 may do well as the birthday of the "New Falls Church." This Monday, not only was the weather spring-like, but so became the outlook for the long-term viability of the City of Falls Church. It was the day the Falls Church Planning Commission came around. By a unanimous vote, no less, the erstwhile biggest thorn in the side of large scale mixed use development in downtown Falls Church "got religion." Monday it approved a resolution of support for the required zoning and special exception adjustments needed for the Akridge Company to build "The Pavilion," an ambitious project with 191 condominiums, 32,000 square feet of retail and 29,800 feet of office slated for the lot adjacent the Panera Bread building in the 400 block of West Broad Street.

But, some might ask, if this marks the third large scale mixed use project OK'd for the 400 and 500 blocks of West Broad, preceded by The Broadway and The Byron, then what's the big deal about this one?

It's because this third project creates the "critical mass" that will cause so much to follow. It was that "critical mass" that nay-sayers were heretofore most frightened of. It's now being fully embraced with a new kind of consensus that is shared not only by the City's leaders – the City Hall staff, the Council and the Planning Commission – but by the developers, themselves, and key bell weather and watchdog components of the community, itself, including its preservationists.

The City has "come of age" with this project. A few years back, the City was willing to donate $1 million to a developer to entice construction on that same lot. This time, the cash flow was reversed. The City has extracted almost $3 million in up-front cash and services as proffers, and has developed a fiscal model to confirm the project will yield far more in tax revenues than the original proposal would have.

But what made The Pavilion, and everything that will now flow from it in Falls Church, finally irresistible was a dialogue that was shared on the pages of the Falls Church News-Press the past two weeks. The first part was a lengthy, prepared statement delivered by developer Jan Zachariasse to the City Council on February 9. The eloquent statement was made so late at night that it was missed by almost everyone. But the reprint of the text showed that Zachariasse "got it" about Falls Church, about what the City wants to be and become, and he spoke to a passion shared by he and his development team to hold to and work within that vision.

Then came the answer last week from Lou Olom, the man who has never backed away from a fight to preserve the core values and heritage of Falls Church. For as difficult as Olom has made it for developers coming to Falls Church over many years, his endorsement in this paper of Zachariasse's remarks served as a decisive blessing of our future.