Founders Row Has New ‘Letter Of Intent’ for Movie Complex

Joey Muffler of Mill Creek, developers of the 4.3 acre Founders Row 1 project, told the News-Press this week that there is a new “letter of intent” from a movie theater company that is hoping to move into the site soon. He said a change in the build-out for the spot has been expanded to include a “large format” screen.

Meanwhile, three restaurants are building out now for opening this fall, including the Chasin Tails seafood, Nue Vietnamese sitdown and Role Play Viet Grill.

Residential rentals are about 60 percent leased, he said, and Versa, the 55 and up senior living residences, are 10-15 percent leased to date, with a number of units already being occupied.

$22.5 Million N. Washington Plan Up for NVTA Vote July 14

Falls Church’s North Washington Street Multimodal Improvements Project (MIP) has been recommended for full funding by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority staff, it was announced at Monday’s F.C. City Council meeting. The cost of the project is $22.5 million, with design slated to begin in Fiscal Year 2026.

The final vote on the NVTA’s Six Year Program will be in two weeks at the NVTA’s July 14 meeting, and staff recommendations are not likely to change much before the final vote.

The N. Washington Street MIP includes sidewalk widening, improved intersection geometry, signal improvements, crosswalks, utility undergrounding, lighting, and landscaping, between Great Falls Street and Gresham Place.

Wawa Changes Plans, Won’t Locate in Downtown F.C.

Wawa, the popular chain of convenience stores operating on the eastern seaboard with four currently in Virginia, has decided to opt out of a proposed location in downtown Falls Church, at the site of the now closed Stratford Motor Lodge.

Owners told City of F.C. officials that the math has not worked out for them to have a location without a gas filling station option.

There are currently no leads for alternate tenants on the site, the monthly meeting of the Falls Church Council’s Economic Development Committee was told last week.

F.C. Changes Trash/Recycling Schedule for Next Week

Due to closures on Monday, July 4, in observance of the holiday, all City trash and recycling collections will take place on Thursday, July 7. The one-day shift is only for the week of July 4.
Curbside composting participants will receive collection on Thursday as well. Missed trash and recycling muat be reported by 10 a.m. on Friday for Friday collection.

Multimodal Plaza at S. Washington & Hillwood Dedication Set

A tentative August date has been set for a grand opening of the multimodal transportation center at the intersection of S. Washington and Hillwood, according to F.C.’s Deputy City Manager Cindy Mester.
The project was funded with federal, state and local grant money, with former U.S. Rep. Jim Moran having kicked it off.

Also, federal grant money in current U.S. Rep. Don Beyer’s requests for the coming federal budget for Falls Church include $600,000 for 12 “green fleet” vehicles and $1.5 million for multimodal transportation improvements.

Va. Railway Express Plans $119 Million for VRE Upgrades

The Virginia Railway Express (VRE), having successfully closed a public bond sale on June 28, will make a significant financial contribution to the Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) program. The commuter rail service will use $119.2 million of the bond proceeds to support the commonwealth’s purchase of rail right-of-way in the Interstate 95 corridor from CSX Transportation.

“This bond issuance demonstrates our commitment to revolutionizing rail travel in the region,” said VRE CEO Rich Dalton. “As a major beneficiary of Transforming Rail in Virginia, VRE has worked to identify opportunities to support this important initiative. In addition to funds from the bond issuance, VRE will contribute another $75 million over the next 10 years on a pay-as-you-go basis, bringing our total financial support to nearly $195 million.”

Those funds will go to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA), which manages the $4 billion TRV program. “Our Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative is an immense investment in passenger rail not seen in decades,” said DJ Stadtler, executive director of VPRA. “This financial contribution from our VRE partners will enable us to increase and improve service, making VRE a viable option for even more Virginians. We thank VRE for their foresight and commitment to expanding passenger rail in the commonwealth.”

VRE, the nation’s 13th largest commuter rail service, connects Central and Northern Virginia with the District of Columbia.