Big F.C. Employer Reveals Plan to Go Onto S. Maple Site

It was made public for the first time this Monday that a long-time City of Falls Church-based business, Tax Analysts, will consolidate all its operations with over 200 employees in the 75,000 square feet of new office space that will be constructed by Atlantic Realty on S. Maple Street.

The organization's executive director, Chris Bergin, made the announcement prior to the final vote of the Falls Church City Council to approve Atlantic Realty's overall mixed use plan for the 4.7 acres at 400 S. Maple. The Council went on to give final approval by a unanimous 4-0 vote (with two abstentions).

The Class A office building component of the project will be the City's largest such structure since construction of the George Mason Square building in the 1980s. Tax Analysts will occupy all the office space above a ground level restaurant and plaza. A second building on the property will house 230 one and two-bedroom condominiums above ground-floor retail that will include a 3,000 square foot theatre arts space offered by the developer at a steeply discounted rate to the City.

A number of the commercial spaces in that building will also be home for existing City businesses who are expected to move from the City Center area that is scheduled for a massive redevelopment to a nearby area where they can own, rather than lease, their space.

"This is a perfect example of a win-win situation," said Falls Church Mayor Dan Gardner in response to the news of how much existing City businesses will utilize the newly-approved project.

As Council member Lindy Hockenberry pointed out, other businesses formerly in the City that scoured to find space for expansion ultimately had to move away because there were not enough good options. Now, she noted, Tax Analysts, one of the City's largest employers, will be able to stay.

"This is our 14th year in Falls Church," the Tax Analyst's Bergin told the Council Monday night. "We've signed a letter of intent with Atlantic Realty on this new site because it will give us the opportunity to consolidate our staff in one location, and because it will allow us to stay and grow in Falls Church, which we very much want to do."

Developer Bob Young told the Council that approval of the S. Maple project will kick off further development on the now semi-blighted South Washington St. corridor in the City. "It will be the catalyst for significant further development," he said, noting that he'd bought property in the area himself with hopes of building on it "conditional on the approval of the Atlantic Realty project."

Representatives of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, the City's Planning Commission, the Economic Development Authority and the Falls Church Housing Authority rose to speak in favor of the project Monday, while three other citizens, speaking as individuals, weighed in against and one for.

In the final Council vote, which followed on a unanimous vote to recommend approval by the Planning Commission the week before, all were in favor except Council members Sam Mabry and David Snyder, who both abstained. Vice Mayor Marty Meserve was not present, but left the mayor with a letter of support.

According to a review by City Manager Dan McKeever, the project will realistically bring upwards of $1 million in new net tax revenue to the City, and as such, according to a variety of studies, represents the "highest and best use" of the land.

The net tax yield will be considerably higher than an all-office or other uses of the land, he said. He added that "you can't force a square market into a round market hole," meaning that nothing but proposals for mixed use for the site have come from the site in the last few years.

Hockenberry and others contrasted the current project from two others that failed to pass muster with the Council because they were too dense or lopsided in terms of a residential-to-commercial ratio.

"This is like the Three Bears," she said. "The first two were either too hot or too cold. This one is just right." An earlier proposal by the KSI Group proposed only 34.000 square feet of commercial to 251 residential rental units, by contrast to the current plan for 100,400 square feet of commercial and 230 residential condos.

Many commented that the willingness of Atlantic Realty to listen to the community and make significant changes in its plans were key to winning their support, including Council member David Chavern. "I might have signed that petition (to oppose the project) at the outset," he conceded. "But they've come such a long way."

Atlantic Realty's Keith Martin conceded, "Your criticisms of our plans has made the project better."

In its final form, the project is 23% commercial and at a total of 100,400 square feet of commercial, has more of this component, overall, than all three of the mixed use projects the Council approved since 2001 for West Broad Street combined.

Also, proffers and community benefits offered voluntarily by the developer total close to $4 million, Mayor Gardner pointed out. McKeever earlier clarified that proffers are not designed to offset net new service costs to the City, since they are paid for by taxes paid by the new property's occupants. Instead, proffers are voluntary gifts offered in exchange for the City's willingness to change its zoning designation through the "special exception" process operative in this case.

The proffers will only include a $1.2 million cash contribution to the City's school construction fund, a cash equivalent of $1.2 for affordable housing, and a savings of $688,000 for the other of a below market rate for the flex arts and theatre space. Landscaping, traffic and other improvements are also included in the proffer package, as well as donations to the Tinner Hill Foundation and the GEORGE bus system.

Council member Sam Mabry, who abstained on the final vote as did David Snyder, said that "the people concerned about the density of the project have had a major impact on this project in its final form."

Snyder said he abstained "because I hoped to press for more commercial as we move to consider the City Center redevelopment," and because of "remaining, unresolved neighborhood issues." He moved to table the vote pending further negotiations but got only Mabry's support before the final vote was taken. He conceded, however, that "this project is the best one I've seen so far, by far."