F.C. Mayor Hardi Greets 500 on NAIOP Bus Tour
Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi greeted the more than 500 participants in the annual NAIOP commercial real estate bus tour of the region who stopped in Falls Church for their lunch last Thursday. The annual event is designed to showcase opportunities for development throughout the region.
In her remarks, Hardi said, “The fact that we’re standing in the largest development project in our city’s history — truly a catalyst in the theme of today’s bus tour — is the culmination of years of visioning, planning, financial modeling, and ultimately trust and partnership across multiple teams of public and private bodies, not to mention perseverance through a global pandemic.
“West Falls has made possible a generational investment of a new high school and the other two projects underway with Insight and Mill Creek — all three are part of a multi decade success story.
“Falls Church faces all the same challenges as our much bigger cities and counties. As the region evolves, how do we ensure we are creating a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable community for the next generation? We should be continuously challenging ourselves, asking how are we leaving things better than we found them?
“We are evolving from a 1940s car-centric suburb to a walkable, urban environment, with a diverse and nationally recognized food scene. We are adding new jobs and more housing options and welcoming new neighbors. We’ve grown our population 10 percent over the past 10 years and will welcome another 20 percent in the next 10 years.
“We are doubling our incoming affordable housing stock, we are proud of our top notch school system, the backbone of our community and strong democracies, we are creating a greener and more vibrant city where you can get all your daily needs met without getting in a car. At 2.2 square miles, the entire city has the makings of a true 15-minute city.
“While retaining our charm and small town character — traditions like our Memorial Day parade, tree lined streets that light up during the holidays, a Saturday farmers market, parks, green spaces and trails, independent coffee shops and delis and not just bars where everyone knows your name, and a homegrown hardware store, are just a few examples of what we are proud of.
“While catching up on long discussed and backlogged capital projects — we’ve built a state of the art, net zero ready high school next door, a new city hall, library, and renovated nearly every public building in the city over the past 10 years and not to mention — we are more economically resilient with a more diversified tax base and triple AAA bond rate. We’ve lowered our tax rate 12.5 cents over the past few years instead of raising taxes to do all of the things I’ve mentioned and we’re poised to lower it another 2 cents this coming Monday.”
Ortiz Announces Resignation From F.C. School Board
Falls Church School Board Member David Ortiz announced his resignation at Tuesday night’s School Board meeting. Dr. Ortiz, who has served since January 2022, said he is stepping down in anticipation of his family’s move to another city this summer.
Dr. Ortiz will serve through June 15th. The Board is expected to fill the vacancy through a Special Election to be held in November.
FCCPS Employee Awards Announced Tuesday
Tuesday night, the Falls Church City Public School Board celebrated four distinguished recipients of this year’s FCCPS Employee Awards.
Tosin Adetoro, a STEAM teacher at Oak Street Elementary, was recognized as the Teacher of the Year for her dynamic approach to science education, inspiring curiosity and collaboration among her students. Mary Manzione, a speech therapist at Jesse Thackery Preschool, received the Professional Specialist of the Year Award for her pivotal role in nurturing the development of our youngest learners. Jessica Hollinger, the administrative assistant at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School, was awarded the Academic Support Staff Employee of the Year for her exceptional organizational skills and community engagement. In a touching tribute, the Operational Support Staff Employee of the Year Award was posthumously given to Eduardo Molina, cherished custodial supervisor, acknowledging his thirty years of heartfelt service.
