Editorial

To the extent that City of Falls Church officials, planners and residents are focused inwardly in their developing thinking to the friendly, 2.2-square mile jurisdictional confines of the city, they may be overlooking the most robust development boom of all that will transform the city in the very near future.

Shockwaves from the boom are already emanating from the East Falls Church Metro station. One of two large mixed-use development projects already under construction adjacent the station borders, literally, on the City of Falls Church. But that is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg. When thinking of the East Falls Church Metro station, think Ballston, because that's its future.

The reason is straightforward. With plans for a Metro spur to Dulles Airport and the Route 28 corridor moving forward, far-sighted planners and developers are looking at the special impact on the East Falls Church station. Insofar as that spur will be one of the most heavily trafficked and lucrative for Metro, the single transfer station to the spur off the Orange Line will be a magnet for surrounding residential and commercial development. That would be the East Falls Church station, and it helps that it is located in Arlington County, which unlike Fairfax County has already encouraged dense development at all other Metro station sites within its jurisdiction.

Take out your old compass, stick the sharp point at the East Falls Church station, and use the pencil end to draw a circle around with the equivalent of a half-mile radius. Behold, for one big portion of the circle, you are deep into the City of Falls Church. Within that circle, everything will be fair game that's not officially protected by historic structure or other laws.

As the City of Falls Church moves ahead to open development of its commercial downtown district to an array of prospective builders, it would be wise to envision the potential spill-over development from the East Falls Church Metro as integrated with the Broad at Washington Street area less than a mile, as the crow flies, away. It may mean, among other things, that North Washington Street between Route 66 and Broad Street should be widened and landscaped into a major boulevard as a key transportation link between the Metro station and the center of Falls Church City. Add plans for a special GEORGE or other local bus link that could already begin to better transport Metro passengers to the existing businesses and entertainment venues in the downtown Falls Church area. Optimal development of that short North Washington corridor could emerge as the most important element of an overall Falls Church growth strategy.

It will take far-sighted thinking and planning for the City of Falls Church to prepare for and benefit maximally from what's going to be happening at East Falls Church's Metro, especially a far-sightedness that can look over the border to what's going on next door.

Look East