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McLean’s downtown redevelopment is moving slowly, but making progress

The idea behind the McLean Community Business Center (CBC) was to create an active and thriving downtown for the community. So far, a planning memo says those plans are moving along slowly.

The CBC segments downtown McLean into zones: a center zone — a sort of Times Square for McLean — with development scaling down to a general zone and an edge zone beyond that, where development will remain residential and low-intensity uses.

The plan was adopted in June 2021, and Supervisor John Foust said the first approval under the new plan was a modest rezoning that turned a commercial space into 18 residential units.

“The first approval under the new Plan was a modest rezoning for the Ashby apartment community to permit the conversion of existing commercial space to 18 residential units,” Foust said. “It was approved by the Board in February 22.”

So far, the memo marks the only McLean CBC project approval. A 44-unit redevelopment of 6707 Old Dominion Drive approved in 2018 is the only other pending residential addition to the center zone of the McLean CBC.

“As of June 30, 2022, there are 762 residential units existing and entitled in the Center and General Zones of the CBC, which is below the milestone level of development by 898 units,” a planning memo said.  “Residential development activity from June 2021-June 2022 included the approval of RZ- 2013-DR-002, for 18 residential units at the Ashby in former non-residential space.”

Still, there’s some hope for more downtown development in the near future. The memo says a proposal to expand the Mars, Inc. headquarters downtown would add more square footage in the center zone, though the project has no residential uses proposed.

“[Mars] proposes to expand the existing 48,000 square foot headquarters building to approximately 100,000 square feet,” the memo said. “Expansion will include adjacent parcel and demolition of existing 16,000 square foot office building (6867 Elm Street).”

There’s also a proposal to demolish the Chain Bridge Corner Shopping Center (1401 Beverly Road) and redevelop it with 214,000 square feet of retail space. While parking will increase from 475 to 583 spaces, the redevelopment plans would reduce the total square footage of retail space on the site.

“We have seen some encouraging redevelopment interest in the Center Zone, especially along Elm Street,” Foust said. “Mars Incorporated submitted a development application in April to expand their headquarters at Elm Street and Moyer Place. Other developers and property owners have expressed interest in residential development along the Elm Street corridor.”

While developers haven’t exactly been kicking down the doors to develop in downtown McLean, Foust said he’s happy with the progress so far.

“While I would like to see more redevelopment activity in the central business district, I am pleased with the projects that are underway and the interest that has been shown in other possible projects,” Foust said. “We have not encountered any issues with the adopted Plan.”

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Camps are just the beginning of what’s in store at Art House 7 this summer. We’re thrilled to offer an array of exciting classes for both kids and adults!Rediscover your creativity with some of our AH7 favorites, such as drawing, hand-sewing, modern embroidery, and our popular 3-week Jump into Crochet classes. But that’s not all! We’ve added some fresh and exciting options to our summer class selection, guaranteed to spark your imagination.

To enhance your artistic journey, we have intensified some of our Ceramics: The Wheel classes to a full 3-hour duration. This extended time allows for more creativity and skill development in each class session. If you’re eager for a captivating twist, give Contemporary Still-Life Drawing & Painting a go. Or why not try an immersive outdoor painting adventure? We have a unique opportunity for you to bring your painting skills to life while learning and creating in the great outdoors with our Landscape Painting: Studio and Plein Air class!

We invite you to visit our website and explore our full Summer Session schedule, brimming with a diverse range of classes and camps. Classes and camps begin June 20th. Unleash your inner artist, broaden your horizons, and embark on a summer adventure like no other. Let’s make this a summer to remember at Art House 7!

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Potomac Harmony Chorus has a new director! We’re ready
to kick off the season with new music, a new approach, and YOU!

Potomac Harmony is one of 500 choruses in Sweet
Adelines International. We’re a vibrant,
contemporary, inclusive, welcoming, and open community of women singers who
perform four-part harmony, barbershop style, committed to a high level of
achievement through teaching, mentoring, personal growth, and performance. Our vision is to entertain, educate, and
enrich lives through musical expression while promoting the barbershop art
form.

Potomac Harmony recently had our first performance
with our new director, receiving rave reviews! We invite you to stop by any Wednesday
evening and be part of the fun and harmony!

Read More

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Army Birthday Festival – Free and Fun

Make Saturday, June 10, 2023 a great day!

Come celebrate the Army Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Rain or Shine!

• Experience outdoor and indoor fun activities, for all

Unveiling of West Ford historical highway marker

Gum Springs will be celebrating 190 years of its founding by freedman West Ford on Saturday, June 17, 2023. To kick-off the celebration, there will be an unveiling of a Virginia historical highway marker for West Ford on Fordson Road

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