The Mayor and City Council are out of their minds. We need this like we
need more animal rights nutjobs trying to control the deer. How many
more cars do we need on the roadways? Don't we have enough already?
Notice they talk about parking but not a word about wear and tear on the
roads.




The owners of Fairfax Circle are looking to completely rebuild the shopping area and make it into a modern and contemporary mix of apartments, retail and restaurants.

Lawyers representing Combined Properties joined the Mayor and City Council for a work session on Tuesday evening to look over the latest draft of designs for the proposed development, which have been in the works for about 18 months.

The proposed new development would include 400 apartments of varying sizes, and around 88,000 square feet of commercial space, which would include a huge, 54,000-square-foot grocery store, and around 34,000 square feet of mixed retail stores and restaurants. The development would also feature structured parking.

Lawyers for Combined Properties said the idea is to transform the roughly 9-acre shopping area—of which around 8 acres is inside City limits, and 1 acre in the Mantua area of Fairfax County—into a "walkable great street."

Artist renderings were shown during the presentation.

Mayor Scott Silverthorne said he welcomes the chance to revive the "tired" shopping center.

"This development is long overdue," he said. "That center is a very tired shopping center. It's been around a long time."

To those who say they worry that a new development that includes such a large grocery store will significantly increase traffic, Silverthorne pointed out that, many years ago, the shopping center used to feature the largest movie theater in Northern Virginia as well as a Safeway grocery store, so the idea is not unheard of.

Councilmember Ellie Schmidt theorized that perhaps the reason the Safeway grocery store left the shopping center years ago is because there was not sufficient parking for it, so she also encouraged the developers to ensure the new development keeps that in mind.

Silverthorne also said he thinks a modern new development will help keep residents in the area and improve their quality of living, and that he appreciates it has features for all ages, including senior citizens.

"I think this development is moving in the right direction," he said, adding that he appreciates the hard work and responsiveness of the developers as they work on the design plans.

"This is an exciting opportunity and I think it will really drive things along the Boulevard," said Councilmember Jeff Greenfield, though he also encouraged the developers to explore ways to fit more parking into the development, as he expects the grocery store in particular will attract a lot of shoppers from both the County and City, as there is not another big grocery store for miles along the Boulevard.

Councilmember Dan Drummond encouraged the developers to keep pedestrian-friendly concepts in mind, as well as consider setting aside some of the 400 units as affordable housing units.

Both Councilmembers Steve Strombres and Dan Drummond said they would prefer to see a nod toward the City's history in the architectural design and public art features of the development.

The developers said they are in talks with Harris Teeter to potentially be the large grocery store within the development.

Combined Properties and the City of Fairfax will continue to work on the designs.


http://fairfaxcity.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/fairfax-circle-may-soon-get-a-makeover

If you look at the problem shopping centers throughout Northern Virginia, most of them are owned and managed by Combined Properties. Most have illogical traffic patterns that create congestion on adjacent roadways, poorly planned mix of retail offerings and the grounds are normally poorly maintained. Keep an eye on them or this one has the potential to make a problem traffic area a nightmare.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2013 01:10PM by Inquisitive One.

I got 24' forgiatos on my challenger... skrrrrrr

They cant even fill current retail space in the circle. Horrible idea with the citys high taxes.

­



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2014 04:46PM by chuckhoffmann.

This is great news, look forward to the improvements. The shopping center is looking very old and not attracting good tenants. Combined did a really nice job at Turnpike shopping Center.

So when does the big redevelopment for Circle Towers begin? and will traffic come to a sandstill on route 29(fairfax Blvd.) in both directions all day long?

I agree that the area needs a facelift but oh man is that going to cause some awful traffic. Suddenly glad I've moved to Alexandria although overall I miss the Fairfax area.

PvpWj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They cant even fill current retail space in the
> circle. Horrible idea with the citys high taxes.

This. That small center is still mostly empty with the rest of the stores being complete shit.

What's a..."store"?

Some sort of abbreviation for online showroom.

Combined Properties = Haft family,you remember the dart drug,trak auto,crown books people.

shaft Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Combined Properties = Haft family,you remember the
> dart drug,trak auto,crown books people.

Yes. I was going to say the same thing. I believe it was operated by one of the sons who wasn't involved with their other retail ops., but possibly just worked for CP. In CP's position, they could jack the rents up high in the shipping centers that they owned if one of their stores were present. They could do this to competitors to drive them out. Or, if they wanted to get their store into that strip mall, all they would have to do is jack the rent and force someone out and you have an instant location for their store to move in.

Fairfax City is curious to me. Unless you live in the area it's not a convenient area to get to to patron the businesses. There are traffic lights everywhere. Stop and go. Stop and go. Parking lots and shopping centers are congested and don't get me started on the historic area of the city and the adjoining renovated shopping area.

How do businesses fare in Fairfax City? Are there enough locals to make them a success? I just don't see folks from Vienna, Fairfax, Burke, willing to deal with the congestion when there are other options for food and dining that are more convenient.

I don't consider Fairfax City a destination. It might be ok if you're a resident, but for the rest of the county, its inconvenient.

chuckhoffmann Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's a list of the shopping centers owned or
> managed by Combined Properties in Fairfax County
> and the City of Fairfax:
>

• Bradlick Shopping Center -
  > Annandale
• Chantilly Plaza -
  > Chantilly
• Courthouse Plaza -
  > Fairfax
• Fairfax Circle Plaza -
  > Fairfax
• McLean Plaza - McLean
• Penn
  > Daw Plaza - Alexandria
• Pickett Shopping
  > Center - Fairfax
• Rolling Valley Mall -
  > Burke
• Rose Hill Plaza -
  > Alexandria
• Sully Plaza -
  > Chantilly
• Turnpike Shopping Center -
  > Fairfax

In addition, Combined Properties
> has three shopping centers outside the
> county:

• Lee & Harrison Plaza -
  > Arlington
• Manaport Plaza -
  > Manassas
• Sugarland Crossing -
  > Sterling

Wow, almost all those are "tired" shopping centers. Does CP own any newer or nicer shopping centers? Doesn't appear so...

We have deliberately timed traffic lights in the city of Fairfax to slow traffic as much as possible, guaranteeing that you'll stop at almost every intersection and be unable to get over 15MPH. If you don't like it, tough shit! Stay the fuck out of my city!

Fairfax City Mayor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We have deliberately timed traffic lights in the
> city of Fairfax to slow traffic as much as
> possible, guaranteeing that you'll stop at almost
> every intersection and be unable to get over
> 15MPH. If you don't like it, tough shit! Stay
> the fuck out of my city!

Get lost punk.

There will be lots of opportunity to help shape this project in the coming months. Don't think the real Fairfax City mayor uses language of the type listed here. Those who know me, know better. Enjoy the Underground, but if you want to discuss this project without anonymous names or claiming to be someone you're not, I'm always available to meet in person.

Scott Silverthorne Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There will be lots of opportunity to help shape
> this project in the coming months. Don't think
> the real Fairfax City mayor uses language of the
> type listed here. Those who know me, know better.
> Enjoy the Underground, but if you want to discuss
> this project without anonymous names or claiming
> to be someone you're not, I'm always available to
> meet in person.

That's stupid.

­



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2014 04:47PM by chuckhoffmann.

Fairfax City Mayor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We have deliberately timed traffic lights in the
> city of Fairfax to slow traffic as much as
> possible, guaranteeing that you'll stop at almost
> every intersection and be unable to get over
> 15MPH. If you don't like it, tough shit! Stay
> the fuck out of my city!


Mayor, thank you for your sensibility to provide traffic calming measures for your city. But I'll need to inform you that when I go through Fairfax city, it is before 6:00 a.m. and I love it when all the lights are flashing yellow. No damn stopping for me. In fact, I've realized I do have to control my speed better at times as I noticed there are plenty of Fairfax city police officers planted along Rt 50 and Rt 236 in the dark to catch individuals like me.

I haven't had a red light ticket in nearly a decade - which would have been the last time you used traffic lights in your city prior to reintroducing them a few years back.

shaft Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Combined Properties = Haft family,you remember the
> dart drug,trak auto,crown books people.

Thanks for pointing this out to me. I'm new around here and didn't realize the Hafts were pulling the strings of the puppet politicians. Google tells me they've been busy for quite some time.

Dart Drug, Crown Books, and Trak Auto were all solid enterprises. NoVa residents are less well off today for their absence. And there is nothing about either the Penn-Daw or Fairfax Circle properties that calls out for preservation. The latter is rapidly becoming a red-headed stepchild as nearby areas grow and improve. Since the past is already gone, there is no time like the present to give it a much needed upgrade.

But there's difference between an upgrade, and caving into to developers' demands, and right now it looks like the Fairfax City Council is doing just that. 400 apartments?? Give me a break.... that's as many households as in all of Mosby Woods, all crammed into what now is just a shopping center. And what benefit will that possibly bring to Fairfax City other than making an already awful intersection even worse?

And I'm sure that the developers who are profiting off of this, won't contribute one cent to infrastructure improvements or anything else to give back to the City. We taxpayers will be left holding the bag while the developers count their money.

In the upcoming city council election, I'll vote for whoever does not support this disaster of a project.

Mosby Woods Resident Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In the upcoming city council election, I'll vote
> for whoever does not support this disaster of a
> project.

Mosby Woods is in Fairfax County, not Fairfax City.

Uh, no. Mosby Woods is the neighborhood where Plantation Parkway intersects 29/50 across from the fire station. Definitely in Fairfax City. There is an elementary school bearing the same name that is located on Five Oaks Road and that is outside the City limits.

> Mosby Woods is in Fairfax County, not Fairfax
> City.

The Mosby Woods neighborhood IS in Fairfax City -- trust me, I live there. It runs along Plantation Parkway north of Fairfax Boulevard (Lee Hwy).

The Mosby Woods elementary school is in Fairfax County, next to Blake Lane.

Very confusing, I know.

yepyep Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PvpWj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > They cant even fill current retail space in the
> > circle. Horrible idea with the citys high
> taxes.
>
> This. That small center is still mostly empty with
> the rest of the stores being complete shit.

That shopping center is almost fully leased, except one space. Do your research...

­



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2014 04:50PM by chuckhoffmann.