Economic Development Authority

City of Falls Church Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes Tuesday, December 4, 2018 7 PM George Mason High School Library 7124 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA 22046 I. Call to Order – The meeting was called to order by Mr. Novotny at 7:14 PM. EDA Board members present: Mike Novotny, Bob Young, Ed Salzberg and John Sandoz City staff present: Jim Snyder, Wyatt Shields, Carly Aubrey, Becky Witsman Student representatives present – Evan Jones and George Hoak Other attendees: Letty Hardi, Phil Duncan, Tim Stevens, Lindy Hockenberry, Ed Novak, Nick Benton, Evan Goldman, Sally Cole and Nate Bath. II. EDA Board member electronic participation in meeting (permission approved by EDA on 4/5/2016) – Mr. Novotny made a motion to approve the electronic participation of Erik Pelton in the EDA meeting, because he was out of town in New York on business. The motion was adopted without objection and Mr. Pelton joined the meeting via telephone after confirming the reason for his need to be absent from the meeting. III. Approval of November 6, 2018 Minutes of EDA Meeting – Minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Petitions from the Public (5 minutes per petitioner) –Ms. Hockenberry shared copies of the Winter 2018 Lasso Magazine and highlighted articles in the magazine written by Evan Jones, regarding the West Falls Church development project and the Founders Row project. V. Petitions from the Board (5 minutes per petitioner) - none VI. New and Continuing Business a. EYA/Evan Goldman/West Falls Church development project – Mr. Goldman gave a powerpoint presentation of EYA’s proposed West Falls Church project. His presentation included information on the members of his development team, the challenges of the site, the proposed layout and design of their project, their desire to also develop the adjacent Virginia Tech and WMATA sites, the anticipated component uses that will comprise the project and many other details. The proposed project will include Harry E. Wells Building • 300 Park Avenue • Falls Church, Virginia 22046 • 703-248-5001 • www.fallschurchva.gov  two phases of development, totaling 1.3 million SF of buildings. Phase 1 will include 900,000 SF of 300 market rate apartments, 240 condominiums, 150,000 – 200,000 SF of senior living and 125,000 SF of office space and approximately 125,000 SF of retail space, all of which will deliver at the same time. EDA and attendee comments generally expressed strong support for the proposed project. There were numerous audience questions fielded by Mr. Goldman, his Regency Centers partner, Nate Bath, Wyatt Shields and Carly Aubrey (project manager). Mr. Shields and Ms. Aubrey also highlighted details of the approved City Interim Agreement for the project, as well as the proposed schedule for the project. b. Update on Downtown Plaza renovation project – Mr. Snyder advised that City staff is continuing to make progress on the park renovations. Work on brick restoration and the new ADA ramp through the park is anticipated to possibly be completed before the end of the year or early into 2019. He added that he would continue to update the EDA as additional information (estimates/details) is available on more components of the renovation plan. c. Update on marketing video – Mr. Williams was out of town, so an update on this project was rescheduled until January. d. Preliminary discussion in re: recommending expenditures for 1% transient occupancy tax monies As it was late in the evening and City staff needs more time to acquire more details (timing and funding limitations/requirements) on this topic, more discussion on this topic will occur at the January meeting or during an EDA retreat. There was general discussion about specific downtown improvement project possibilities that have arisen previously (info kiosks, wayfinding and parking signage, bike sharrows, etc.) and Mr. Pelton’s e-mail detailing his thoughts on funding possibilities was shared. VII. Staff reports – none VIII. 2019 retreat to review 2018 EDA accomplishments and a look ahead to 2019 goals? No decisions were made on this topic. IX. Nominations/leadership for 2019 – as there were only 4 EDA members able to attend, discussion and a decision on 2019 leadership was postponed until January. X. Other Business - none XI. Adjournment at 9:20 PM Harry E. Wells Building • 300 Park Avenue • Falls Church, Virginia 22046 • 703-248-5001 • www.fallschurchva.gov