Garden Center Proposal for North Hill Rejected

County considering manufactured home park instead.

Fairfax County has rejected a public-private partnership proposal from Holly, Woods & Vines of Mount Vernon to build an expanded center and Japanese garden on the North Hill site in Hybla Valley. Brett Kenney, chief aide to Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland, told Patch the county attorney’s office has advised the county Department of Housing and Community Development that the commercial use would force Fairfax County to repay $16 million in restitution to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Kenney said the county is not pursuing the Holly, Woods & Vines proposal at this time and will work with the store owners to find another location should they choose to move. Meanwhile, the county is currently reviewing …

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David Versel

12:20 pm on Monday, April 23, 2012

Barbara, since you asked why these new businesses can open without public input, I will point you to my column from February that discusses this issue. http://mountvernon.patch.com/blog_posts/one-if-by-land-two-if-by-right My viewpoint is this: the only way to stop low-end businesses from coming to the highway is to improve the economics of the area by attracting new residents with the buying …   more ›

Construction at Costco Moves Forward

Crews are in early stages of work on the site.

Construction crews have begun preliminary work at the future Route 1 home of Costco Wholesale. The existing Mount Vernon Multiplex Cinema will be demolished in the very near future, said David Versel, executive director of the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation. Costco is still slated to open sometime in 2013. Costco closed on the property on Jan. 9. The finished structure is expected to cover more than 143,000 square feet.

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Dixie Pig Owner Adelaide 'Addie' Arthur Dies At 73

Del. Scott Surovell paid tribute to Addie in his 'The Dixie Pig' blog named after a favorite restaurant of his grandmother's.

Hayfield Farms resident and entrepreneur Adelaide 'Addie' Arthur died on Thursday, March 22, 2012. She was 73. Addie's family was the owner and operator of many businesses, opening the Dixie Pig BBQ restaurants, according to the Legacy obituary in The Washington Post. "People from all across the country have raved about the Dixie Pig, including weatherman Willard Scott," the Legacy obituary reads. "The restaurant was also featured on an episode of CSI." According to The Washington Post, the first Dixie Pig opened in 1924 on Powhatan Street in Alexandria. Now it's Vaso's Kitchen, but the old Dixie Pig signage still sits atop the restaurant. The second Dixie Pig location opened on Route 1 in 1946. Although the location at Beacon Hill Road …

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New Wegmans Could Boost Kingstowne Property Values

Proximity to "high-end" grocery stores can raise property values, experts say.

Mulligan Road Construction Moves Forward

Construction on the Fort Belvoir connector road has resumed.

Phase II of the Mulligan Road construction project, which will connect Route 1 to Telegraph Road, is moving forward after experiencing a setback in November. The second bid protest filed by the Overland Corporation was dismissed in late December. Shirley Contracting has resumed work on the project, which is still on target to be completed by late fall 2013. “Construction seems to be moving along,” said Joan Clark, staff assistant to Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay. “We’re playing catch-up from the time we missed from the lawsuit.” Phase II of Mulligan Road consists of widening portions of Richmond Highway and Telegraph Road and construction of the Mulligan Road Bridge over John J. Kingman Road and the Telegraph Road bridge over Piney …

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Mary Ann Barton

2:18 pm on Tuesday, May 14, 2013

I wonder if the new Wegmans will eventually see more shoppers than the new Costco? Costco looks like it could be a real bottleneck there, unless there are plans for more ways to get in and out than the one street?   more ›

SFDC Talks Hotels, Local Tourism

The Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation organized a panel event Wednesday at the SpringHill Suites on Richmond Highway to discuss the future of the local hospitality industry.

The Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation (SFDC) hosted a panel on the current state and future of the hospitality and tourism industry on the Richmond Highway corridor on Wednesday at the SpringHill Suites. Demographics along the Richmond Highway corridor generally reveal a younger, less-wealthy renter's market compared to the rest of county, according to David Nissenson, Mareth Advisors; however the region is poised to accrue wealth at a faster rate overall. Barry Biggar of Visit Fairfax spoke on the size and scope of the tourism industry at the national, state and local levels. The Mount Vernon Estate draws in over one million visitors a year, he said, and is part of the "historical triangle" with Gunston Hall and Woodlawn …

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Martin Tillett

8:16 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012

There have been past proposals to create underpasses for North South traffic at the major business nodes that create crossovers for cars exiting US 1 to the commercial areas that can accomodate pedestrians and cyclists. Underpasses at these places would result in fewer traffic intersections with lights and keep a better flow on the highway. VDOT has been the decider here in the past saying no to …   more ›

David Versel Takes the Helm of SFDC

New executive director discusses Route 1 revitalization, community involvement.

David Versel has big plans for the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation (SFDC) in 2012.  Versel was appointed executive director of the SFDC in November 2011. He was born and raised in Rockville and attended Washington University in St. Louis to study architecture. He earned his master’s degree in city planning at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. “I like to think I came in here without the baggage,” he said. “I’m have a fresh look on the corridor.” After earning his master’s degree, Versel worked for Economic Research Associates in Washington, D.C. He was involved in many projects that reshaped downtown D.C. in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He also worked for the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission as a Senior Planner from 2003-2005…

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