Fairfax Areas of Burke
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Serving Fairfax Areas of Burke Classified, Page 19 Classified, ❖ Lanier Middle School eighth- Entertainment, Page 12 grader Mathew ❖ Gaines, 12, slips a goal by Slapshot, the Washington Capitals’ mascot. Sports, Page 12 Goal! inside News, Page 4 /The Connection Gateway Requested in home 10-22-10 home in Requested Time sensitive material. sensitive Time To Open Postmaster: Attention News, Page 3 Bulova Talks PERMIT #322 PERMIT Easton, MD Easton, PAID Budget, Roads Postage U.S. Photo by Craig Sterbutzel News, Page 15 STD PRSRT www.ConnectionNewspapers.comOctober 21-27, 2010 ❖ Volume XXIV, Number 42 online at www.connectionnewspapers.comFairfax Connection ❖ October 21-27, 2010 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Fairfax Connection ❖ October 21-27, 2010 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Fairfax Connection Editor Michael O’Connell News 703-778-9416 or [email protected] City of Fairfax Gateway Remodeled Work nearly completed on retail center on Fairfax Boulevard/Main Street. By Victoria Ross an eyesore. The Connection Drive by now, and the “gateway” is trans- by Photo formed by a $7 million, 10,500 square-foot ver the past five years, the specialty retail center called Fairfax Pointe. Fairfax Boulevard/Main The most dramatic element of the new cen- Victoria Ross Victoria OStreet corridor area has at- ter is the circular front of the building, oc- tracted restaurants and shops cupied by T-Mobile, which opened last that cater to the busy, upscale suburban month. In the next few months, two “up- shopper. scale casual” restaurants — Thai by Thai Modern “must-have” chains, like and the popular southern chain Zöes /The Connection Starbucks, Washing- Kitchen — are slated ton Sports Club, Bor- to open. Three more ders book store, and “I think as a developer leases are being nego- the Asian-Indian fu- tiated, one for an- sion restaurant Masala you’re sensitive to other small restau- Wok are creating a rant, said Jay more vibrant sense of redevelopment Donegan, the devel- Jay Donegan, the developer behind Fairfax Pointe, talks with City of place. oper behind Fairfax Fairfax inspectors about finishing touches on the redevelopment But one corner of opportunities.” Pointe. project. the city’s busiest inter- — Jay Donegan Designed to evoke section, called the an urban streetscape, win situation,” said Sisson. “The city has up specialty retail centers, mostly in the “gateway” to Fairfax Fairfax Pointe has two benefitted from the quality and design of Northern Virginia area. by city planners, was noticeably stuck in the outdoor seating areas, a partial stone Fairfax Pointe. It presents a visible upgrade “When I bought the property, we had a past. façade, high windows, an articulated at a highly visible location.” vision for the redevelopment of the site,” On the 1-acre triangle of land at the in- roofline and colorful awnings. Donegan, a Vienna-based developer for he said. “The lease on Dunkin’ Donuts was tersection of Route 50 and Route 29, an Fairfax City Manager Robert Sisson said 20 years, bought the property four years ago expiring, and we knew we could do some- “astrology boutique” was located in an old the new shopping venue is a plus for the and started the building process about a thing special.” The relatively small site and service station, next to an 1980s-style city. year ago. He is owner of J. Donegan Co., crossroads location made the project more Dunkin’ Donuts. “The combination of an attractive build- which specializes in the redevelopment of Some community residents considered it ing and new space for businesses is a win- underutilized, infill locations and ground- See Fairfax Pointe, Page 5 Bulova Speaks about Budget, Transportation Issues County Chairwoman Sharon Bulova the county government, froze county em- ployees’ salaries and only gave a 1-percent addresses quarterly meeting of WFCCA. increase to the school system. “Last year, looking at the FY2011 budget, we saw commercial real-estate values also By Bonnie Hobbs video, review the budget information pre- by Photo dropping steeply and we projected a $350 The Connection sented, exchange their views on the discus- million shortfall,” said Bulova. So for the sion questions at the end and then send FY2009 budget, the county employed simi- airfax County’s budget, transporta- their opinions to the county’s Web site. Bonnie Hobbs lar, cost-cutting measures as it had, the year Ftion projects and future redistricting “It’s like a book club, in some respects,” before. Now, after decreasing funds for were the main topics on Board of Su- said Bulova. “It provides people with an parks, libraries and human services and re- pervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bulova’s (D- opportunity to weigh in, give us input and fusing any extra money to the schools, the At-large) mind Monday night when she ad- tell us how what we’ve done [budgetwise] county anticipates having less of a short- dressed the quarterly meeting of the West has impacted them. This is new and excit- /The Connection fall, this coming year, than in the past two Fairfax County Citizens Association ing, and I think it’s going to be neat, and I years. (WFCCA). haven’t heard of any other county or juris- “It’s not been easy, but I think the Board With the budget on the horizon, Bulova diction doing things this way.” and county have done a pretty responsible stressed the importance of community in- Then when the county executive puts to- job of steering the county through some put in the process. Toward that end, a Do- gether his proposed budget in December tough times,” said Bulova. “But we’ve also it-Yourself Budget Toolkit has been created. and January, the public’s comments will let gotten some tremendously valuable input The device enables residents, community him see what people are thinking. This feed- Sharon Bulova talks to the WFCCA. from the community and from our county groups and organizations to host their own back, said Bulova, would help him create employees, as well.” group discussions about the FY2012 bud- the budget. values were falling, that our revenues would Regarding transportation, she said that, get. They’ll receive information about the She also praised the county’s foresight in drop,” she said. “So we projected a $650 if all goes well with phase two of the Dulles budget as a whole, but may then hone in realizing, a couple years ago, that tough million shortfall, and we knew [we’d be in rail project, there should be rail service to on the issues that matter most to them. To economic times were on the way and then trouble] if we didn’t correct our course.” Dulles airport by 2016. However, she said, access the toolkit, go to implementing specific measures to cushion The county did so by increasing the resi- “We’re working with the [Metropolitan www.fairfaxcounty.gov and click on “bud- the blow as much as possible. dential property-tax rate but, since prop- Washington] Airports Authority to bring get.” “Two years ago, when we planned to do erty values had dropped, most tax bills held down this time estimate.” After gathering a group of four to 12 a budget for FY2010, we knew, because of steady. It slashed spending by nearly $100 people, the members may watch the toolkit how the economy was going and property million via reorganizational changes within See Budget, Page 10 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Fairfax Connection ❖ October 21-27, 2010 ❖ 3 News /The Connection Craig Sterbutzel Photo by Photo Caps asst coach Bob Woods throws down the ball to start the face- off in the student versus teacher game. Along with the two Washington Capitals defensemen, Slapshot, the Caps’ mascot, makes his grand entrance into the Lanier Middle School gym. Phyllis Vejar, eighth grade Caps Visit Lanier English teacher and Defensemen, mascot show off their hockey Caps fan, stands be- skills to middle schoolers. tween Karl Alzner and ashington Capitals was originally going to take place during Tyler Sloan. Defensemen Karl Alzner the last professional hockey season, but it Vejar orga- and Tyler Sloan visited had to be postponed due to heavy snow fall. nized the W Lanier Middle School on With the defenseman came a donation of Capitals’ visit Monday, Oct. 18, to field questions and $550 worth of street hockey equipment for to Lanier. teach the fundamentals of hockey. The event the school. 4 ❖ Fairfax Connection ❖ October 21-27, 2010 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com News PUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Jan. 15-22...$780 plus tax Fairfax Pointe Set To Open Includes air from BWI, 7-Nights Riu Bambu Resort with All Meals & Beverages. Transfers & Porterage (Transfers to BWI are offered) From Page 3 In 2007, he also purchased Fairfax Shopping Cen- ATLANTA & JEKYLL ISLAND BY MOTORCOACH Feb. 20 – 26....$799 ter with Regency Centers, Inc. The 40-year-old strip Includes Deluxe Motorcoach from Vienna or Rockville, 6-Nights Hotel, Daily challenging from a design standpoint. Donegan center, with 85,482 square feet on 6.26 acres, had Breakfast, 4 Dinners, Sightseeing. Call for detailed itinerary. said he and his team considered several options, in- become worn and tired-looking. But the location, DELUXE SMALL SHIP PANAMA CANAL CRUISE Celebrity’s cluding a multi-story building and structured or un- near Jim McKay Chevrolet and with access to Inter- AZAMARA’S “Journey” Jan. 30 – Feb. 15 ...................$2740 plus tax derground parking, but ultimately went with a single- state 66 and Route 123, was appealing to Donegan. Cruise from San Diego to Miami through the Canal With All Meals & story center and street-level outdoor parking. Entertainment with Balcony Cabin! Call for details on ship & itinerary. “Also, from the beginning, I felt the orientation to “It is a project that everyone wants to see redevel- SHILLELAGHS TRAVEL CLUB both streets was critical,” Donegan said.