F.C. Council Delays 3rd Try at S. Maple Project

Saying they needed more time to consider objections from neighbors and some new changes to the project, all Falls Church City Council members present Monday voted to delay action on the third effort to win approval for a large mixed-use project on the 4.7-acre South Maple St. site of the historic duck pin bowling alley here.

Atlantic Realty, which owns the George Mason Square building at the intersection of Routes 29 and 7 in Falls Church, is requesting a special exception to permit mixed use on the commercially-zoned property, hoping to build a $79 million project including 230 condominiums and 85,000 square feet of commercial space.

Falls Church economic development specialist Rich Goff said that Atlantic Realty was "extremely flexible and accommodating" in making some changes to its plans based on an earlier work session with the Council, adding more ground floor retail space and increasing the ratio of commercial to residential to 21.5%.

He said that, according to the City's economic model, the project would bring net new tax revenues of $438,000 a year to the City, compared to $55,000 annually currently coming from the site.

In addition, he said, the City has negotiated proffers from the developer including a $1,111,980 contribution to the City schools' capital fund and the commitment to make 15 of the 230 total condo units "affordable."

He said the developer was open to either 15 "affordable dwelling units" on the site, or 12 and a cash contribution to the City's Affordable Housing Fund of $210,000.

(Carol Jackson, executive director of the Falls Church Housing Corporation, asked the Council Monday to consider asking Atlantic Realty to convert its affordable housing contribution to 100% cash so it could go to construction of a separate affordable housing project elsewhere in the City).

The proffers also included contributions to the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, the George bus system, a traffic study of the area, and the City park fund. The developers also left the naming of the project open for input from the community.

Atlantic Realty president David Ross referred to two previous unsuccessful attempts to develop the site with large-scale mixed use plans, and said that his group "studied and responded in a positive way" to the reasons given for either rejecting or discouraging the others.

A proposal by the KSI Group for a large rental apartment facility was rejected by the City Council in the fall of 2002, and another by the Young Group and IDI was withdrawn last summer when it started to run afoul of Council opposition.

Ross said his new plan does not require a special exception for height, in hopes of easing concerns on residents behind the project. Instead, his project calls for three buildings, one large residential building with ground floor retail on the Maple Street frontage and two office buildings, one with ground floor retail. A total of 7,000 square feet of retail is projected.

Six citizens, all neighbors to the proposed project, spoke out in opposition to it, calling it "out of character with the neighborhood," failing to acknowledge the City Center plan that is now unfolding, and a "Battlestar Gallactica building over my back fence."

Goff conceded that the net $438,000 annual tax revenues to the City is less than the number projected for other already-approved mixed use projects on West Broad, but said that is due in part to the fact that the average cost of the condo units will be lower than the Spectrum and Byron projects.

The net number also includes a projection of the anticipated number of children who will reside at the project, a matter which the board of directors of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce voted Tuesday to ask the City to reconsider.

It was noted at that meeting that, while the City is sticking to a model of .15 students per unit in a project of this type, the real number may be far less. Developer Bob Young argued to the Chamber board that if the just completed project, The Broadway, would be taken as a model for these projects in the City of Falls Church, then the projected rate should be zero, since there are no school aged children in The Broadway. While he said he did not expect that to be the case for the Atlantic Realty project, he said he did think the City's projected rate was too high.

The Council will consider the Atlantic Realty project at its public work session this Monday before bringing it back for a preliminary vote to refer to City boards and commissions at its May 24 business meeting.