Falls Church council approves smaller minimum for West Falls grocery; developer, schools discuss parking process

Falls Church City Council voted unanimously May 12 to adopt an amendment to the voluntary concessions for the West Falls development that reduces the minimum grocery-store space from 39,200 square feet to 32,900 square feet.

The change, adopted as TR25-09, was presented to the council by Henry Zhang, the city planner assigned to the West Falls project, and was supported by the planning commission. Zhang said the commission “unanimously recommended approval” and staff recommended adoption of the resolution. The council approved the amendment 7-0.

The amendment reduces the minimum grocery footprint while, according to staff and the developer, preserving city revenue. Henry Zhang told the council the developer’s calculations show “the city will have the same amount of revenue from this grocery store” after the change; staff notes the project would free about 3,300 square feet for other tenants, producing additional taxable activity.

Marybeth Avedisian, senior vice president and project director for Hoffman & Associates, which is developing West Falls, answered council questions during the public hearing stage and afterward. Avedisian said the team “certainly are planning to honor the MOU that permits the school to use the parking garages free of charge for 2 hours, on 15 event nights per year.” She described two implementation options for the school surge-parking provision: purchasing dedicated hardware to validate tickets, or using a cost-free vendor portal and login that staff or volunteers could use on a tablet or phone to validate a group of cars.

Avedisian said the vendor’s portal could allow several attendants to validate tickets electronically at events and that the approach is “a 0 cost, process” compared with buying separate validation equipment.

Councilmembers pressed for clarity about the logistics. One councilmember said the electronic portal would still require human volunteers at events and asked whether a solution could be simpler for school use. Avedisian replied the developer and vendor are open to working with school staff and city staff to ensure a workable approach and asked council and neighbors to notify the developer when tenant signage or trash problems arise; she said West Falls’ permanent wayfinding signage is delayed until July and should reduce ad hoc tenant signage.

Council members also asked about tenant trash and bird-scattered refuse near the site; Avedisian apologized for the incidents and said the team addresses complaints as they arise.

Why it matters: West Falls is one of the city’s largest recent developments and its grocery anchor is a critical component for neighborhood retail, pedestrian traffic and projected tax revenue. The amendment preserves the city’s revenue assumptions while allowing the developer to vary tenant layouts. The council’s unanimous vote clears the path for the developer to proceed under the new concession terms.

The council’s action follows a planning commission public hearing May 7 and no members of the public spoke in opposition during the council’s May 12 hearing on the amendment. The council adopted the amendment with a recorded vote listing Miss Connolly, Miss Downs, Miss Flynn, Miss Shontz Hiscag, Mister Snyder, Miss Underhill and Mayor Hardy as voting yes.

Ending: Councilmembers and the developer said they will continue to coordinate with the Falls Church City Public Schools and the vendor to finalize the surge-parking validation process and to monitor tenant signage and trash issues as the retail component of West Falls moves toward opening.