Sorry Dave Eckert, I Drove My Car to See Your Ecology Film

I barely got to know Dave Eckert and his wife, Annette Mills, before they moved away to Oregon in 2006. Dave and Annette were a Falls Church legend and worked tirelessly to make this City a better place to live.

I remember one fine Saturday when Dave led a bicycle tour around Falls Church, pointing out the travesties committed in the name of Development to the two streams that flow through the City: Tripps Run and Four Mile Run. The most memorable moment was stopping at a manhole cover and smelling the putrid odor emitting from it. This was an area where Tripps Run had been piped underground. Deprived of air and sunlight, the organic material in stagnant water simply rots, Dave explained. During rainstorms the gunk washes downstream into Lake Barcroft, where I used to swim before moving to Falls Church. (I remember once swimming through a thick green sea of algae, like an ice cutter in the Arctic.) Read more

Just Like the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Just like the Stanley Cup playoffs? Well, not quite, but fun nonetheless.  It’s hockey playoff time at all levels, from Mites to Adults.  A number of Falls Church residents play ice hockey at one of the area rinks.  Closest is Kettler Capitals Iceplex at Ballston, where the Caps practice — and where college hockey’s “Frozen Four” will be played next month.  More austere is Fairfax Ice Arena off Highway 50 in Fairfax, offering an adult league for novice to expert, and also known for having produced some of the nation’s top figure skaters over the years.

The Reston Raiders have one of the top youth hockey programs in the area, coached by experienced hands like Falls Church’s Don Williamson.  A little farther away are Mt. Vernon Ice Arena south of Alexandria and Cabin John Ice Rink in Maryland.  All are terrific rinks with great atmosphere.  If Caps tickets are too expensive, try one of these local rinks and watch hockey for free.

At the Library: Exploring Barbery’s “Hedgehog” on April 2

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New Video Tells How City Helps with Housing and More

The City of Falls Church Housing and Human Services Division (HHS) wants to get the word out about its services to help residents “Build Better Lives.”  To help explain they’ve commissioned the following short video that provides an overview of the services they offer and encourages residents to contact the office to discuss specific needs.
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Mixed-Use Projects: Less Tax $$, More Kids Than Planned

 

Falls Church City’s analysis of three mixed-use development projects indicates they are netting the City slightly less money and more school children than originally estimated.  Presented to the City Council last month, the analysis looks at the impact of The Byron and The Spectrum, both on Broad Street, and Pearson Square at 410 S. Maple.

 

The three projects were originally estimated to have a combined net positive fiscal impact of $1,711,939 per year, but as of February the actual figure, assuming full occupancy of commercial and residential units, was slightly below projections, at $1,672,601.

The percentage of school children living in the three is slightly higher than projected, at 19% as opposed to the original estimate of 15% of units.  The percentage is higher at Pearson Square and The Spectrum, with a ratio of 22% pupils to units.  Overall, there are currently 61 city students living in the three developments.  That number will likely rise as Pearson Square and The Spectrum gain occupants.

Full occupancy has been achieved only at the Byron, which has 90 condominiums and 22,000 square feet of commercial space.  Pearson Square, orginally planned as condos but converted to apartments due to slow sales, has occupants in 200 of 230 units.  The Spectrum has filled only 27 of its 189 condos.  Updated figures on commercial occupancy for Pearson Square or The Spectrum are unavailable at the time of this writing.

The city’s mixed use fiscal impact chart is available here.

Mason Girls State Basketball Champs!

The George Mason High School girls basketball team defeated Floyd County 53-46 yesterday in Richmond to win the Virginia A Division 2  title, avenging their loss to the same team in the last year’s state semi-final.  

The Mustangs shut down Floyd County star Brittany Avancini in the second half, holding her to 19 points for the game.  A year earlier, Avancini scored 31 in Floyd County’s win over the Falls Church team.  

Mason freshman Bria Platenburg scored 14 for the Mustangs, while Nicole Mitchell had 13, Chantal Thomas 9, Kimberly Kenny 8, Lauren Kane 7, and Kelsey Kane 2.  Nicole Mitchell led Mason in rebounds with 15.   Platenburg, Thomas and Lauren Kane each had 4 assists.

George Mason finished the year with a record of 24-6.  Floyd County, last year’s state champion, finished at 26-4.

(Photo: Steve Stroup)

Save GEORGE Bus, Says Village Preservation Society

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Northgate Development Jeopardized by Credit Crunch

As a follow up to a piece I posted on February 27 on the Status of the City Center Development, I was asked to comment on the status of the Northgate/Hekemian Development. This is the planned mixed-use development, in the 400 block of North Washington Street being undertaken by Hekemian & Co. It consists of some 95 apartments, 10 rental townhomes, 22,000+ sq. ft. of ground floor retail space, and 14,000+ sq. ft. of office space.

After going through the public vetting/approval process for the better part of 2007 the project was finally approved by all the appropriate boards and commissions and the City Council in 2008. This project, like the City Center project, would appear to be in jeopardy as well, victimized by the current credit crunch. The lending environment for new developments is virtually non-existent at this point in time. To the extent Hekemian can find financing, the amount of equity required (of the investors/developers by the lenders) will be a lot higher than the amounts required one or two years ago, making the project’s economic viability (the investor’s internal rate of return, or IRR) more questionable.

Hekemian has all the approvals needed to proceed and is apparently anxious to do so despite the difficult economic environment. But they must make a decision about whether to wait for more favorable borrowing conditions or go forward under these much less favorable terms, assuming they can even get them at all. Today lenders are demanding far greater equity in a project for a construction loan and permanent financing is extremely difficult to obtain. Even if the current economic crisis abates, lenders are still unsure how to value a property in the future which is how they calculate their risk/reward making the negotiation of terms very difficult for all parties. Projects such as this are valued using a set of assumptions about rental prices, occupancy rates, and “secondary market” prices (what institutional investors would pay for a fully mature property some years down the road) and all of these assumptions are in a state of flux and uncertainty today.

Meanwhile, Hekemian continues to absorb burdensome carrying costs for the project as they already own the land and/or options, tying up their own capital. The value of the land is probably less in today’s market than what they paid for it. And the value of the entire development, when/if completed, is most certainly less today than a year or two ago the combined impact of lower net operating income (lower rents) and higher capitalization and discount rates (to account for greater perceived risk).

All this being said, they continue to shop the project around to potential lenders, still believing that the market for higher end apartments is very strong at their N. Washington St., Metro-walkable location. I understand they have hired a broker to work with them to fill the ground level commercial space with tenants that reflect a theme of healthy living. For example, they will target health food stores, spas, yoga and Pilates studios, weight loss centers, along with cafes and restaurants. But, another hurdle, Hekemian will most likely have to include tenant improvement dollars to “turnkey” the retail space because retailers, large and small, have been shut out of the market due to the inability to obtain loans for FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment), inventory, and working capital.

The overall project design and mix of component uses for Northgate remain the same as originally planned and approved. It was enthusiastically supported by the EDA and, I think, most of the boards and commissions when it went through the approval process. Personally I think it would create an impressive gateway to the city from Arlington. And it certainly would add considerable net tax revenues to the city. As bad as the current recession is right now, turn-arounds can come quickly and unexpectedly. Hope springs eternal.

I hope this adds some clarity to an admittedly cloudy situation, and as always I welcome any corrections if I have mis-stated something, more facts, updates, and feedback from all.

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