David Ross, senior partner of Atlantic Realty, seeking to develop the first phase of a new downtown City Center in Falls Church, told a joint work session of the F.C. City Council, Planning Commission and Economic Development Authority Monday that property he controls adjacent to the City Center site will also be redeveloped, and could be home to a small arts-oriented movie theatre.
His comment came in response to a comment from Planning Commissioner Suzanne Fauber, noting that a relocated bowling alley is slated to be the only “entertainment” feature of the City Center as it is currently configured. In addition to the property it controls for the City Center, Ross noted, Atlantic Realty owns the adjacent George Mason Square and parking lot, and also has a contract on another parcel next to it. He said that construction of a theatre there would be feasible if there is interest from a theatre owner or group and the City wanted it. Meanwhile, the slightly scaled-back City Center plan, that includes the reduction by two stories of the office building slated for W. Broad St. frontage, is moving toward a first reading by the City Council in December. It includes 90,000 square feet of commercial office space, 100,000 square feet of retail, 454 residential apartments, 16 town houses, a 150-room hotel with conference center, 70 age-restricted condos and a new home for Bowl America. A series of public open houses and hearings is slated before then. The first open house will be next Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the Art Room at the F.C. Community Center, 223 Little Falls St., from 6 to 8 p.m. A second at the same location will be held Thursday, Nov. 29.
