We are excited about this week’s announcement that work on the Metro end of the three-part, 40 acre West Falls development megalopolis is getting underway, as reported on Page 1 of this edition. This constitutes the final portion of what will be a seamless development sewn together by the West Falls Station Boulevard running from Route 7 to the West Falls Church Metro station.

The first part is the 10-acre West Falls development moving toward final completion now as more and more retailers are moving in that’s inside the City limits. The second part is the Virginia Tech/HITT portion whose main building is now under construction with the cranes currently above it. The third portion is what was announced as getting underway this week.

Once all three are fully up and running, the economic and social benefit for Falls Church will be huge, as it already is proving to be for the first portion. It will completely revive the West Falls Metro station, as the predominantly residential development at the Metro site will add a major new rider component using that station.

That new residential component will need to be steered to retailers in Falls Church for the range of their living needs, discretionary and non-discretionary alike. In Falls Church, the range of excellent restaurants, medical professionals, and entertainment options now exist, making life considerably more interesting for its current residents, and any others who come to reside nearby will also be attracted.

So, even though all the experts are predicting a serious downturn in the local economy for the coming period, all that has been done to build up new mixed use and other developments in Falls Church are already proving to insulate local residents in terms of maintaining the quality of life and the schools here while actually substantially lowering the real estate tax rate.

While addressing the issues of affordability remain a major challenge, one that wider trends are primarily responsible for, the local Falls Church government continues to face up to needs of its citizenry, which was why in the recent election, a veritable “vote of confidence” was handed in by voters here.

We will see when the economic crunch deepens in the region how better equipped the City of Falls Church will prove to be, although it apparently will not be pretty for anyone, according to the forecasters.

So this makes us particularly heartened by this week’s announcement about the Metro component of the three-part West Falls project. The solid participants in the project are also cause for hope, and the effort for all of us around it will be to hang in there until it, and still more needed housing developments get done, bringing essential more business to our doorsteps.

So, buckle up, it will be a bumpy ride for the regional economy for a while, but for those in the City of Falls Church, it will be less so.