Annandale booster Dan McKinnon, chair of the Annandale Central Business District Planning Committee, has done more than just about anybody to promote positive change for Annandale. His goal: to transform Annandale, an unincorporated suburban community in Fairfax County, into a “hometown” with “a sense of place.” The revitalization efforts are focusing on the commercial center surrounding the intersection of Little River Turnpike and Columbia Pike.
McKinnon has been an advocate for Annandale since he moved here some 40 years ago. A native of Missouri, he is retired from the Navy and from a subsequent position as CEO of a non-profit that helps people with disabilities find jobs.
“I started out by picking up trash,” McKinnon recalls about his beginnings as a community activist. In the 1980s, he campaigned for a bond referendum that provided funds for various improvements, including bus shelters and underground utilities. He is a former president of the Annandale Chamber of Commerce, which is also active in pushing for redevelopment and community enhancements, and has served on several county boards.
The Annandale Central Business District Planning Committee wants to make Annandale “a place to go to, not through.” It has undertaken studies and advocacy efforts aimed at abating commercial decay, making Annandale more pedestrian friendly, encouraging business owners to make their properties more attractive, promoting mixed-use development, instilling community pride, and creating a vibrant urban village.
Annandale began to develop in the early part of the last century with a gas station and country store, followed by more family businesses. A couple of large landowners, including the Webb and McWhorter families, owned properties that later become the site of shopping centers.
While the large number of Korean-owned restaurants and shops attract Koreans from throughout the D.C. region, for many people, Annandale is merely a place to pass through, rather than a destination.
Fairfax County has identified Annandale as an “activity center” attractive for mixed-use development. McKinnon hopes the redevelopment that takes place “will protect our nearby residential areas from commercial encroachment, provide housing for some of the almost quarter million new citizens anticipated in Fairfax County in the next two to three decades, create a transit/transportation hub, and also foster Annandale as a shopping and entertainment destination for the surrounding neighborhoods so we don’t have to drive long distances to enjoy the things our county offers.”
McKinnon points to a long list of accomplishments by the committee: the development of Tollhouse Park on Little River Turnpike (above); streetscape improvements, including the “acorn” street lights, street signs (left), sidewalks, benches, brick crosswalks, and the flower and shrub plantings; the creation of the Annandale logo and flag; community events like the annual fall parade, and the ongoing work around the land use and transportation plans and design guidelines.
When asked to list Annandale’s strengths, he cites the wide variety of businesses here, the variety of housing ranging from modest apartment complexes to multimillion dollar homes, the convenient location just inside the beltway, the cultural diversity, and the large number of banks here.
In fact, he says, Annandale can be thought of as a banking center. We already have 13 banks, plus a branch office of Navy Federal, the world’s largest credit union. Two new banks will open this year: Fosters Bank in the Safeway shopping center and TD bank on the corner of Little River Turnpike and Backlick Road. McKinnon also thinks the site of the former Shell station on Columbia Pike across from Bloom’s would be a good spot for a bank or credit union – or a fast food restaurant.
McKinnon would like to “fill in the gaps in the market” by encouraging the development of businesses we don’t have here, such as a movie theater, hotel, and a wider variety of clothing stores and restaurants. Among the obstacles impeding development in Annandale, he says, are the need to consolidate the many small parcels of land here, the lack of mass transit, and, of course, the sluggish economy.
The challenge for McKinnon is how to encourage development and welcome new businesses while also creating more of a “hometown feel” by making Annandale more pedestrian friendly. He would like to see more people working as well as living here, along with plenty of green space and entertainment opportunities.
Two big decisions coming up this summer will have a major impact on how Annandale will develop. The Fairfax County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors will vote on a transportation plan aimed at relieving traffic on Little River Turnpike and an amended land use plan to guide future development (and urbanization) in Annandale.
The vote on transportation will be on one of two options: (1) to eliminate the service roads and make Little River a tree-lined, six-lane boulevard or (2) establish a “one-way pair” system in which a portion of Little River would be one way heading west (toward the beltway) and part of John Marr Drive would be extended and become one way heading east.
McKinnon believes both options are much better than the transportation solution in the current plan. That plan calls for turning Little River into a six-lane highway with the retention of service roads and a flyover (possibly at Ravensworth), which would involve the taking of property on both sides. “A boulevard for downtown Annandale is a noble goal,” he says. “We can do that now. Can either option provide it? I hope so.”
When the Metro subway system was first planned, a decision was made not to have it extend up Columbia Pike. “I think that was a big mistake,” McKinnon says. Now, there are plans for a
streetcar line along Columbia Pike in Arlington, and once it’s completed, there is likely to be a push to extend it to Annandale.
He believes “subsidizing transit of all forms is one of the biggest roles government can play.” He would like to see a transit center in central Annandale, so people can park their cars here and take a bus or streetcar. His long-term dream is an elevated rail over the beltway linking Annandale with Tysons Corner and Springfield.
The other major decision involves an amendment to the
Annandale land use concept that aims to transform the community into a pedestrian-friendly urban village through a series of incentives to encourage developers to have building entrances closer streets with parking moved in the back or underground. The plan calls for an array of small parks, more public art, and other amenities, and more attention to architectural design elements. It would adopt a form-based approach to zoning, which McKinnon says would “give developers an incentive to be imaginative” and “remove the impediments to property consolidation.” Developers would be allowed to build taller or larger structures if they agree to provide certain amenities, such as a community center, parking structure, or park. McKinnon hopes future development in Annandale will include a community center—which could be used for meetings, exhibits, classes, and entertainment.
Three major development projects have already been approved by the county board,but have not gone beyond the conversation stage, generally because the financing did not work out. These projects included mixed-use developments on the sites now occupied by the bowling alley on Markham Street and the Kmart on John Marr Drive and a hotel on Little River Turnpike on the site of Magill’s restaurant. The hotel project became too expensive when the developer factored in the cost of providing meeting space and an auditorium for the community, McKinnon says.
These or similar projects will likely be revived when the real estate market picks up. But “unless there is property consolidation, nothing will happen,” McKinnon says.
It appears that the only comments you post are ones that are complimentary to you….a bit narcissistic, eh?
Not true at all – many critical comments have been published. All comments are published except spam.
Like most people who are community activists, Dan McKinnon tends to do and want to do things that are great…and some not so great. He gets huge kudos for doing and wanting to do a lot of things that will make Annandale a place to go to. However, for a community that falls along at least two major commuter roads and projecting fairly substantial growth in the next 2-3 decades for the county, it is critical to all of us in Annandale and the rest of FFX, Alex and Arl. that we remain a point that allows people through. One way roads or boulevards that are too pedestrian friendly will be fought tooth and nail by me because the last thing Annandale needs is additional traffic congestion. Which brings me to the streetcars… Taking up valuable traffic lanes with a street car is perhaps the worst idea I have seen for this area. Arlington keeps coming up with reasons for me to stay out…the street car is a pretty good one.
I would ask McKinnon if he had thought about working towards my dream – the Virginia part of a Metro ring that would allow people to mass transit from downtown Annandale to Springfield, Tysons, and beyond. I would assume that idea is still possible (HOT lanes notwithstanding) since they built that possibility into the new WW bridge. That would be the public transportation project I could get behind…
I read the following two sentences and then had a few thoughts:
– McKinnon hopes future development in Annandale will include a community center—which could be used for meetings, exhibits, classes, and entertainment.
– The hotel project became too expensive when the developer factored in the cost of providing meeting space and an auditorium for the community, McKinnon says.
Is this a portent of things to come if the form-based approach is approved? It appears that the hotel deal fell through specifically because of a requirement for a public use amenity, similar to what will be required for the form-based approach. This was a concern that I listed here when we had the discussion on the Annandale Land Use concept. It is in everyones best interest if McKinnon's hopes for future developement and business reality are able to co-exist.
Anon, I have had my share of both complimentary and non-complementary comments on this blog. Around Annandale has posted every one of them without fail.
A banking center? Is that really a reason to stop and hang out in Annandale?
I think the people hanging out on Little River Turnpike from Hummer Road down to the Safeway is disgusting and I hate to even drive down there, let alone frequent the businesses. I think that mess should be a priority. When is something going to be done about that? And, when is someone worthwhile going to run against Penny Gross? I think those two agenda items would boost Annandale's economy greatly. I've lived in Annandale all my life and it has not changed for the better.