El Zunzal Closes Doors in Preparation for Building’s Demise

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
February 6, 2012

The new owners of the Broad Street eatery El Zunzal shut the restaurant down last week as they prepare to receive a permit for the building’s demolition and reconstruction as the new location for the City-based Dominion Jewelers.

Dominion, located next door to the restaurant in the Old Brick House Square development on Rowell Court, purchased the El Zunzal site last year. They expect to receive a permit soon, probably this month, said Rachelle Barimany, daughter of the store’s founder.

The new store will house the jewelry business on the first floor and will have two spaces on a second floor for lease. The building will face Broad Street, unlike the current building, which faces the parking lot, and will feature a big Palladian window, which was suggested by the City’s architectural review board.

“We went through a couple of revisions, talked about a couple of things. The City gave us some really great ideas and collaborated on a lot of stuff,” Ms. Barimany said.

The upstairs suites will be 1,500 and 1,000 square feet — spaces big enough for an office or other retail establishment. But the owners don’t yet have an idea what kind of business they would like there.

In an interview with the Times last summer, Ms. Barimany said she liked the idea of a restaurant, which would likely be busiest in the evening when the jewelry store is closed, but there hasn’t been any more thought since on the topic.

“We’re open to lots of different things,” she said.

The site is unusual for Broad Street in that there is ample parking, making it not only possible but desirable to have multiple retail spaces on the site.

If all goes according to plan, they hope to finish construction and open the new store this fall.

Saving of Historic Woodland House and Poplar Tree Moves Closer

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times Staff

February 3, 2012

The historic Woodland House at 610 Fulton that so many residents asked be saved has moved closer to survival with the emergence of a buyer who is interested in renovating the 120-year-old home.

If the buyer’s contract goes through, it also would lead to the survival of the spectacular and much-loved tulip poplar tree on the property.

The possible sale is ultimately the result of a city ordinance that requires a home deemed historical to be placed for sale for one year at a price determined by an independent appraisal. If no one buys it, the owner then has the right to demolish it.

Many people, including some local real estate agents, scoffed when the Woodland House was listed at the appraised price of $1,120,000, because it needs extensive rehab.

But owner and agent Joey Randhawa, of developer ASR Designer Homes, said he received serious interest as soon as he listed it on Dec. 21. Prospective buyers immediately came armed with contractors who would do the necessary work, he said.

The house went under contract after just three weeks on the market. But Mr. Randhawa cautioned that it’s not a done deal; the buyer’s contract contains contingencies that run through February — which could cause the contract to fall through. He declined to elaborate, citing the buyer’s request for privacy.

But the quick contract and general level of buyer interest in the house is certainly a good sign for the structure’s eventual survival and renovation; even if this contract fails, 10 more months would have to elapse without a sale before the house could be torn down.

As far as the poplar tree goes, it, too, would be saved if a buyer executes a contract — but not by force of law. Instead, it would be saved either voluntarily or by developer generosity: Mr. Randhawa says he will put in the deed a requirement for any buyer to keep the tree for some number of years — a number yet to be determined.

The Falls Church Times erred in December when it wrote that the city had required the developer to save the tree; in fact, it hasn’t and can’t do so, because the tree has not been labeled a “specimen tree.” The Times had it right previously, when it wrote last year that city officials were not empowered to save the tree, even if they wanted to. The Times apologizes for the error. Instead, the tree is being saved voluntarily by Mr. Randhawa and ASR.

Asked why the developer was being so generous — he could build and sell a near $1 million house on the lot with the tree, which has been legally subdivided away from the Woodland House lot — he responded via email:

“This is our good will to the community to give anyone the opportunity to buy the house and the large tulip poplar.  I verbally told the planning commission this is our plan, it is not in writing.  If we want. we can build on (the lot) and tear the tree down tomorrow — it’s our property and our right, but that is not our goal and not what we want to do in this neighborhood.  We are making an effort to appease the community.”

Pressed further, Mr. Randhawa said via email that he is taking the long view.

“I do not want any negative feelings towards my company and I have always tried to build in neighborhoods to improve them and increase the value and appeal of a neighborhood…I want to keep all the neighbors happy and on my side for the construction and sale of the houses on (two nearby lots he is building on).  I am young and will be building here for many years and would like to keep working in the City and keep our mutually beneficial relationship.

“It is a long term plan but it served my parents who founded my company well and I would like to continue their vision,” Mr. Randhawa said.

However, his generosity may not be needed in this case: the buyer under contract wants to keep the tree while adding on to the back of the Woodland House.

City Manager Puts Down Roots With New House

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
January 30, 2012

Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields is putting down roots in the city he runs.

Living in Arlington when he was first named manager, the top ranking position in the City hierarchy, Mr. Shields and his family moved to the City and rented a home on Poplar for the last several years.

Last September, the Shields bought a home that needed extensive rehab at 900 Parker and have been renovating it ever since. They hope to move in by March, said Patricia Shields, Wyatt’s wife and also the general contractor on the rehab.

Ms. Shields owns a company called Metro Green, an Arlington-based contracting firm that specializes in so-called “green” renovations that make homes especially energy efficient.

And as you might expect, their own home will be no different, featuring a heat pump hot water system, high-tech “dense pack” insulation, and thick R38 insulation in the walls, among other things. Most homes only have R38 in their roofs, if at all, and something about one-half to one-third as insulating in the walls.

The home also has a very contemporary look, and will be about 3,000 square feet when finished. The couple took an old rambler that they paid $490,000 for and have been adding a second story to the original brick home.

Additionally, the original brick on the rambler remains, but has been mostly covered by a new exterior paneling.

WEDNESDAY, 2/1: How to Talk to Your Teen Focus of PTSA Speaker

The February PTSA meeting will feature Jenifer Marshall Lippincott, the author of “7 Things your Teen Won’t Tell You (And How To Talk About Them Anyway).”

“Every teenager keeps secrets,” the book says. “And every parent worries that those secrets could lead to dangerous or risky behavior. In this clear-eyed guide to keeping pace, and peace, with teens today, authors Lippincott and (Robin) Deutsch – one an educator, the other a psychologist, both parents – offer a deceptively simple plan to break down those barriers based on three clear rules: Teens need to stay safe, show respect, and keep in touch. The key? Keep the conversation going. How? By understanding there are things in adolescent life that, like acne and attitude, are part of the landscape.”

The meeting will be at the George Mason High School Library at 7:30 on Feb. 1.

The book’s web site is www.7thingsyourteen.com

For questions, call Sue Earman, PTSA President for GMHS, at 703-628-8365 or email sueearman@verizon.net.

Crisp & Juicy staying on Broad — for now

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times Staff

January 1, 2012

You will have Crisp & Juicy to enjoy some more. But for how long remains unclear.

A few weeks ago, the Peruvian Chicken restaurant, located at 913 W. Broad, seemed to be poised to disappear. The location was closed for what was said to be renovations, and the building was listed for lease, according to the City’s commercial property database.

Indeed, the database still shows it to be for lease. But it isn’t, according to commercial real estate broker Jeff Handler of Asadoorian Retail Solutions.

“It’s not really something that’s intended to be out there,” Mr. Handler said of the database listing. “At this point, the property is leased and there’s an occupant (Crisp & Juicy) in business.”

If that sounds confusing, that’s because it is, and Mr. Handler decided to leave things a bit opaque, despite repeated questions from a reporter. He did allow that the restaurant was closed for several weeks because of a fire, and that the “owner was (at that time) wondering how things were going to proceed.”

That may have been when it was listed for lease.

But at this juncture, the restaurant, which was founded in Arlington and boasts eight locations around the metropolitan area, has been re-opened and is getting an endorsement from the agent.

“The folks at Crisp & Juicy have been around for a long time, and seem to be a very popular local dining establishment,” he said.

Nevertheless, the broker left open the door to the idea of a different tenant down the road. While they expect the existing restaurant to be there for the “near term,” Mr. Handler added that “longer term — that’s totally unknown.”

The questions about Crisp & Juicy’s future come at a time when the days of the adjacent restaurant, El Zunzal, are numbered. That building was sold last year, and the new owners plan to demolish the structure to build a new two-story retail store to house Dominion Jewelers, and possibly an additional tenant. The jewelry store currently is located next door in a condo on Rowell Court, and its plans are awaiting City approval.

Between a new building on the El Zunzal site and some possible modernization of the Crisp & Juicy site, the 900 block of West Broad, which consists mostly of small, older buildings, could see some significant transformation over the next few years.

The El Zunzal and Crisp & Juicy sites are the two largest on the block, and the owner of the Crisp & Juicy building, Allan Berman, also owns the adjacent lot to the east, 909 West Broad. That lot currently houses a foreign currency exchange, US Penny & Coin Service Corp.

Spectacular Poplar Tree May Be Saved After All

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times Staff

December 23, 2011

The much-loved tulip poplar tree on the Woodland House lot at Fulton and Lee streets might survive after all.

The 70-inch diameter tree seemed likely to meet the chain saw last spring, when city officials told the Times that a developer who bought the property had the legal right to cut down the tree and subdivide the lot.

But that wasn’t quite right.

City officials are empowered under a little-known ordinance to withhold a building permit on properties deemed historically significant until a board known as the HARB — short for Historic Architecture Review Board — signs off on a developer’s proposal.

They have not done so in this case.

Instead, they asked that the owner, ASR Designer Homes, LLC, market the home for a year, at a price determined by an independent appraisal, to see if a buyer who will save the house and tree will emerge. That requirement wasn’t just created out of whole cloth; it is part of the historic preservation statute.

As a result, the 4,400 square foot home at 610 Fulton was listed for sale on Wednesday at a price of $1,120,000. That’s about the going rate for an updated house of that size in Falls Church City, but this house needs extensive repair.

City Planning Director Jim Snyder said all the house’s systems need to be rebuilt, and it also needs exterior fixes, which in turn will have to comply with the requirements of the historic building code. Mr. Snyder added that any buyers who are interested will probably need to spend up to another $1 million, on top of the purchase price for the house.

The reason it appraised so high, despite its condition, are its historic status and because it sits on a very large lot, now .56 acres. That’s smaller than it was; the developer already has subdivided some of the lot, which had been more than an acre, in order to build two other homes.

Under the rules of the historic statute, the owner must market the home for a year at the approved price, and ensure buyers are aware they cannot tear the house or tree down. Indeed, the listing on local real estate sites says just that, and also says the developer has begun work on the two houses whose lots were subdivided from the original lot.

Should a well-heeled buyer decide to jump in, he or she will be acquiring a unique property, and one that would wind up being more expensive, with a higher assessment, than virtually any other home in the City. What the likelihood is of such an eventuality occurring is hard to say, but it doesn’t seem likely.

Then again, with many homes in Arlington selling in the $1.5 million to $2 million range, it’s certainly not impossible to imagine. There’s plenty of money in prosperous Northern Virginia — but does anyone want to part with it for this particular home?

The tulip poplar tree, located on the southwest corner of the lot, is estimated to be 150 years old, and its canopy covers nearly half of the new lot.

More than 70 City residents signed a petition in 2010 asking that the tree be saved, and the Falls Church Tree Commission passed a motion late last year urging the City Council “to investigate all options” to protect it.

Emotions have run high on both sides in this long-running battle; the Shefer family, which previously owned the house, had fought the City over the proper zoning for the property, and the new owner has reported harassment of his workers who were doing cleanup and site preparation on the lot.

An Indoor Farmers’ Market Opens on Broad

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times Staff

December 14, 2011

So you couldn’t make it to the popular Falls Church Farmers’ Market at City Hall last weekend? Or it was cold and you decided to drink another cup of coffee instead?

Now you can get some of your Farmer’s Market favorites and other local treats seven days a week — and with better parking to boot.

The Local Market, 246 West Broad, was opened recently by Tom Coates, who decided to open the store when he couldn’t make the Farmer’s Market one Saturday morning because of his Little League coaching responsibilities.

“That’s how I came up with the idea,” he says.

While it’s not exactly the same, there are many similarities: at least 12 Farmers’ Market vendors sell their wares at Mr. Coates’ store, and everything he sells is grown, raised, or produced within 100 miles, in an effort to appeal to the locavores among us, who try to eat food that isn’t trucked or transported across the country or the globe.

There are items from Lovettsville and Mount Jackson, Va., and products from Baguette Republic, the Northern Virginia bakery. Several local coffee roasters sell their whole beans, and the store also sells crafts produced by City artisans.

There’s a large section of organic products — including milk, eggs, yogurt and cheese. Local products include tomatoes, apples and pasta, which is produced by Cavanna Pasta in Richmond — which Mr. Coates concedes is just beyond the 100 mile cutoff — as well as dairy products from Blue Ridge Dairy in Leesburg.

“It’s exceeded my expectations” so far, says Mr. Coates, who formerly worked as an electrician in Vienna.

City residents Mary Kearns and Heidi Cahill have their wares for sale in the store. Ms. Kearns has a company called Herban Lifestyle, which offers natural bath and body products, and Ms. Cahill’s business is called re*architect and offers handmade napkins, and tablecloths, among other items.

The Local Market is open seven days a week from 9 am to 8 pm.

Vacant Chicken Out Building is Demolished

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times Staff

December 6, 2011

The vacant Chicken Out restaurant building, which has been empty since a fire there many years ago, met the wrecking ball today.

Well, it wasn’t a wrecking ball; it was a demolition excavator.

Either way, it’s the first activity in years at the building, which is slated to become a new BB&T bank branch when demolition and the subsequent new construction are complete. BB&T, of Winston-Salem, NC, will close its nearby branch in the strip mall anchored by Giant Food at that time.

It’s a lot of money to spend to move across the parking lot, but BB&T has been seeking to make that move for some time. They were looking for a more prominent location and the ability to have drive-thru banking, but their plans were stalled by city officials who deemed the bank’s plans for traffic management inadequate.

City officials also have been holding up a proposal by McLean-based Capital One to move its banking center from the 1100 block of West Broad Street to the prominent northeast corner of Broad and West streets — now occupied in part by the Sunoco gas station — because of concerns about traffic flow.

Likewise, officials declined to allow a drive-thru bank to operate in the old Falls Church Cabinetry building at the southwest corner of Broad and West when one or more banks inquired about the property, which has been vacant now for 23 months.

While some may criticize the city for making it tough for new businesses interested in a Broad Street location, adding drive-thru facilities would be a challenge at the already-congested Broad-West intersection. But perhaps more importantly, putting a small bank at either of the two prominent corners available there would ultimately shortchange the City coffers, because the zoning allows for much larger, denser, and lucrative development.

As many as five stories could be built at either location, possibly allowing something similar, albeit smaller than, the Gateway and Northgate developments that are approved and beginning to rise on North Washington Street.

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