The board of directors of the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce wasted no time in giving its unanimous approval to Atlantic Realty’s new plans for the launch of a major Falls Church City Center redevelopment last Tuesday. Having heard a recommendation of its task force assigned to evaluate the project based on a set of criteria developed by the Chamber, the board overrode its chair’s suggestion of a slower approval process and went to a vote, which was unanimous, on Tuesday. The project, set for the area south of W. Broad between the 200 and 300 blocks, is ready to go, with Atlantic Realty holding contracts on all the land. Responding to initial concerns from City Hall, Atlantic scaled back and modified parts of the project, Adam Schulman told the board.
These changes included lowering the height of the proposed office building to six stories and reducing the number of residential rental units included. But more scaling back would make it financially unfeasible, he said, risking the loss of what could be $2 million annually in net tax revenue to the City. He also said that the contracts on the land are due to expire unless finalized in the next couple of months. Schulman will present the new plan at a public meeting of the Falls Church Economic Development Authority Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the F.C. Community Center, 223 Little Falls St.
