Historic marker proposed to recognize remains of Manassas Gap Railroad near library

Poe Terrace Park, the woodsy area bordering Little River Turnpike and Hillbrook Drive, across the street from George Mason Regional Library, contains boulders that were once part of a bridge carrying the Manassas Gap Railroad over Little Indian Run Creek. Annandale resident Helen L. Winter, who is spearheading a proposal to have a historic marker placed on this site, says this section of the railroad was used to transport troops during the Civil War and could have been used by Mosby’s Raiders.

Annandale resident Helen L. Winter has submitted a request to the Fairfax County History Commission on behalf of the Annandale Revitalization Committee for the historic marker and to create a recreational park on the site with benches and paths. Winter says the park needs a lot of cleaning up before it can accommodate visitors. While it has many mature trees, it’s overgrown with bamboo and thorny blackberry bushes. It’s also full of litter and debris left by homeless people who’ve camped out there. Winter, who is also on the board of the Annandale Chamber of Commerce, Hillbrook/Tall Oaks Civic Association, and Clean Fairfax Council, says donations would be needed to pay for the clean up.

Broyhill Crest residents propose 'traffic calming' measures for Wayne Drive

Thanks to all the speeders tearing up and down Wayne Road (pictured), some residents of the Broyhill Crest neighborhood are asking the county to install speed humps. Other main access roads to the neighborhood from Gallows Road—Oliver Avenue and Valleycrest Boulevard—could be affected, too.

The Broyhill Crest Community Association (BCCA) has approved a request by community resident Brad Parker to pursue measures to curb speeding on these streets. BCCA President Keith Taggart sent a letter to Fairfax County Supervisor Penny Gross seeking a review of these streets for inclusion in the county’s “traffic calming program.” If the streets qualify, the BCCA will form a community task force to explore various options for “traffic control devices.”

According to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s Residential Transportation Administration Program, these devices include speed humps, speed tables, raised pedestrian crosswalks, traffic circles, and median islands. To qualify, a street must have 600 to 4,000 vehicles a day. The department would conduct a traffic count and speed survey to determine of the street qualifies. Those studies are only done in the spring and fall when school is in session. If the county and the Virginia Department of Transportation approve the plan, community residents would have a chance to vote on it.

Seven youths arrested for gang-related assault on Medford Drive

The Mason District police station reports that a 16-year-old male was assaulted in what is likely a gang-relatead incident around 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 23 in the 4100 block of Medford Drive in Annandale. "The victim was approached and assaulted by approximately eight individuals. Preliminary investigation reveals the victim was attacked with a baseball bat and a knife," the police department states. "The victim was able to get away and call police. He was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital with wounds to the head and upper body. Five 15-year-olds, one-16-year old, and one 17-year old were arrested for "malicious wounding by mob and gang participation."  Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers.

ABGC celebrates 50th anniversary

For the past 50 years, the Annandale Boys and Girls Club has provided sports and recreational opportunities to local youths. Now the ABGC, the oldest soccer club in Northern Virginia, is planning to vacate its headquarters on Columbia Pike and move to larger quarters, mostly likely to another location in Annandale.

Kip Germain, co-director of the ABGC, believes youth sports is an “important outlet to keep kids occupied after school and help them stay out of trouble and learn about teamwork.” He notes that soccer and other sports offer a positive alternative to the influence of gangs. He is proud of the many national championships won by ABGC teams. Most recently, the Conquistadores adult soccer team won the 2009 Open First Division Co-Ed National Championship in Dallas Oct. 25.

Germain estimates the club handles about 6,000 registrations a year. That includes 2,200 soccer players, 1,000 basketball players, 300 lacrosse players, and smaller numbers for football, T-ball, boxing, wrestling, and cheerleading. The club serves about 3,000 families a year, he says, since families usually have more than one athlete, and many kids play more than one sports. Several sports, such as soccer and boxing, serve adults as well as kids. The ABGC also offers summer soccer camps and sublets its auditorium to other groups for kung fu, tai chi, jazzercise, and zumba.

For Germain, a former professional soccer player on the Washington Diplomats (the forerunner of D.C. United) and the Atlanta Chiefs, the ABGC is a full-time job. All three of his children played division I sports in college. His father, Everett Grant Germain Jr., founded the club in 1959, and served as its president until his death in 2006.

Various fundraising activities support ABGC programs, including bingo, party rentals of its indoor soccer facility in Springfield, and Christmas tree sales. The trees are sold on North Chambliss Street in Alexandria near Landmark Mall.

Annandale could be transformed into an 'urban village'

If you want to know what the new, revitalized Annandale business center might look like in a few years, visit Clarendon, Reston, or West Hyattsville. These are some of the “urban village” models driving the Fairfax County planners who put together the design guidelines that are part of the revised comprehensive plan. The plan is expected to be completed next summer.


The new design guidelines, developed by the Office of Community Revitalization and Reinvestment (OCRR) and the Annandale Central Business District Planning Committee, “shifts development away from a suburban form to a more pedestrian-friendly, urban form focused on a town center at its core.”

The plan is the first in Fairfax County to propose “FAR-based development,” says Matthew J. Flis, revitalization program manager in the OCCR. FAR stands for “floor-area ratio,” a formula that determines how much development you can have on a particular property. The FAR concept gives developers a lot more flexibility and more of an opportunity to be innovative if their building designs fit the parameters in the guidelines.

To make the streets more pedestrian-friendly, the plan prohibits things like giant parking lots and loading docks next to the street. Flis predicts a lot of smaller projects will be built in Annandale and large developers will do small projects. He doesn’t expect the Kmart will be replaced by a larger development any time soon, noting that the Annandale Kmart is among the most profitable in the country. It is possible, though, that the Kmart could be incorporated into a larger development in that spot.

One of the key hurdles to redevelopment in Annandale is the predominance of small parcels. (That characteristic paved the way for so many businesses owned by Korean-Americans, who purchased small family-owned shops as owners aged and put their properties on the market.) The revitalization plan encourages the consolidation of small parcels by permitting higher density for larger sites.

Under the design guidelines, the higher-density town center consists of the 35-acre area centered on the intersections of Little River Turnpike, Annandale Road, Ravensworth Road, Backlick Road, and Columbia Pike. The guidelines include the following suggestions:

• To create a consistent “street wall” along the front of the property line, buildings should be placed on the inside of the sidewalk, with parking at the rear, underground, or in parking structures. Buildings should have easily identifiable entrances on the main streets.
• Retail and service-oriented business should be street level.
• Special paving, lighting, and landscaping should be used to highlight building entrances.
• “Urban parks” should be created with seating, shade, and bike racks.
• Variations in building height and setback should be promoted to avoid large, boxy buildings. A variety of roof lines should be created by using such elements as gables, dormers, towers, and roof-top terraces and gardens.
• Buildings on prominent intersections should be emphasized by having their facades face the corner.
• Decorative architectural elements, window groupings, and awnings should be used to enhance visual interest on buildings. At least 60 percent of the first floor of storefronts should be glass.
• Signs on buildings should be limited. Signs should have a coordinate design and include English translations.
• Dumpsters and utilities should be hidden from public view.
• The streetscape should be enhanced with shade trees, planters, and benches.

Body found in burning car near Annandale

The Fairfax County Police Department is investigating a dead body found in a burning car on Saturday evening, Nov. 21, around 8 p.m. on the 8200 block of Willow Oaks Corporate Drive. That's near Gallows Road between the hospital and Route 50. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death. Officers from the Mason District police station are seeking witnesses. Anyone with information should contact Crime Solvers.

It may be the end for Hollywood Video in Annandale

It looks the Hollywood Video on Little River Turnpike in Annandale by the Braddock Road intersection is going to close soon. According to a salesperson, the store isn’t getting any new videos, and nearly everything is for sale. The video game section closed a while ago. I will miss Hollywood, even though I also subscribe to Netflix. Until recently, Hollywood had a better selection than Blockbuster.

Annandale remains hub of region's Korean-American community

Other neighborhoods, such as Burke and Oakton, have many more Korean-Americans than Annandale, yet Annandale remains the regional hub for Korean restaurants, clubs, businesses, and culture. It’s also the home of the Korean-American Association of the Washington Metropolitan Area, which represents dozens of Korean-American social service, cultural, advocacy, and business groups based in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C., most of them non-profits.


The association offers classes in English, citizenship, and SAT preparation and provides job referrals, says its director, Jae Eog Lee. This group is raising money for a Korean-American cultural center and also works on advocacy issues, such as urging Congress to pass a new free trade agreement with Korea and ensuring that the upcoming U.S. census doesn’t undercount the 200,000 Korean-Americans in the D.C. area. Lee and members of the Korean community are proud of Mark Keam, the first Korean-American elected to the Virginia General Assembly. Keam, a democrat, will represent the 35th district, covering Vienna and Oakton.

The group’s biggest project is the KORUS festival, an annual showcase of Korean food, entertainment, and culture held in the Kmart parking lot. Lee says people from other cultures, including Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, and Latinos, will be invited to participate in next year’s KORUS festival.

Sandy Evans brings years of experience and activism to school board race

Sandy Evans hopes to bring her extensive experience as a public school and community activist to the Fairfax County school board. Evans, a former journalist, is running for the Mason District seat on the school board and has been endorsed by Kaye Kory, the current board member. A special election is expected to be held in January or early February to fill the vacancy created by Kory’s election to the House of Delegates. Herb Smith, a former teacher and Obama campaign activist is also running for the Mason seat on the board.

The budget is going to be the main issue for the school board for the next three years, Evans says. Both the Fairfax County Public Schools and the county government are facing huge shortfalls, requiring major program and personnel cuts. Evans is a founding member of the new Fairfax Education Coalition, a group of advocates who “believe we can make positive changes by looking for savings” without having to take such drastic steps as increasing class size or cutting funding for crucial programs.

Evans says she feels strongly about protecting class size and need-based funding for schools with large numbers of at-risk students, such as English language learners and students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches. “I would like to make sure everything possible goes to the classroom and teachers, as opposed to the administration,” she adds. Evan also opposes the proposal to eliminate band and strings programs for elementary schools. Cutting that program would have an adverse impact on middle and high school music programs, she says, and research has shown a link between music instruction and math achievement.

Evans’ activism in recent years includes the following: past chair of the FCPS School Health Advisory Committee, member of the steering committee of the Northern Virginia Healthy Kids Coalition, co-founder of Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal (SLEEP), legislation committee chair of the Fairfax County Council of PTAs, FAIRGRADE Leadership Team adviser, member of the School Board Transportation Task Force, member of the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council, and president of the Sleepy Hollow Elementary School PTA;.

Noting that she has “more than six years experience in scrutinizing the FCPS budget,” Evans says she was “involved in efforts that resulted in saving Fairfax County Public Schools millions of dollars through transportation efficiencies. Our school system’s shrinking budgets will require continued innovation and imagination to make the best use of our limited resources.”

To explain why she’s running, Evans says, “anyone can steer the ship when the sea is calm. But tough times require experienced leadership.” After spending the past 14 years working with children as a parent, school volunteer, and community leader, Evans wants to “continue putting my energy to work for students, parents, teachers and citizens during these difficult budget times.”

Target comming to Merrifield

The Merrifield redevelopment project is expected to include a new Target, a county official confirmed Nov. 18, although details are so far unavailable. The Merrifield Town Center project will include about 1,000 housing units, a 150-room hotel, retail and office space, parking garages, and road improvements. In April, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors created the county’s first Community Development Authority to facilitate a public-private partnership to facilitate the Merrifield project.