Korean Community Center to be based in Annandale

The committee purchased a four-story office building at 6601
Little River Turnpike for $4 million at the end of 2019 and hopes to begin
renovations soon. The committee has just begun working with an architect to
reconfigure the interior space.

The community center will be used for cultural activities,
classes, and social service organizations, says committee member Harold Pyon.

In searching for a property, the committee
had been focusing on Annandale and Centreville, both of which have concentrations
of Korean Americans. According to Pyon: “Annandale is the Korean hub. There are
300 Korean businesses here.” (Technically, the building’s post office address is Alexandria, but it’s just outside the Annandale zip code.) 

The Fairfax County government contributed $500,000 to the project, the Korean government contributed another $500,000, and the committee
raised about $1.8 million in donations. The group’s fundraising efforts will
continue, as additional funds will be needed to maintain and manage the center
after it opens.

In 2018, the community was close to finalizing the purchase of another building, also in Mason District, but that deal fell through. 

The Korean Community Center Organizing Committee is also going through a process to transform itself to become the board of directors for the Korean Community Center.

The community center will on the top two floors of what is now known as the Pinecrest Building, while the existing tenants will remain on the first and second floors – at
least until their leases expire, Pyon said.

Existing tenants include C2 Education, a tutoring company;
Bethany House; lawyer Jeremy Flachis; Ariana insurance company; a chiropractic clinic; Simorgh Event
Planning; an accident injury clinic; and IT Pronets, an information technology school and testing center.