More residents say Annandale is improving
Visitors to the Annandale Today table at the Taste of Annandale last month were asked to fill out a brief, nonscientific survey with the question: “Is Annandale getting better or worse?”
Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73.6 percent) checked “better.”
They were then asked to write down why think Annandale is getting better or worse. Here are some of the responses from those who said “better”:
- “More businesses, housing, and employment opportunities; more visitors, thriving academics; environmental/community improvements.”
- “O’My Chiq and the Block are transforming Annandale.”
- “Stores, options increasing; nice housing being built.”
- “It would be better with better maintenance of weeds along sidewalks and traffic safety precautions, such as adding a stoplight at Mason District Park.”
- “I want to be positive and think that things are getting better. I think that for this to be possible, it must be everyone’s job. For example, pedestrians must respect traffic signs to avoid accidents. Also, I see some trash on the streets near 7-Eleven.”
- “I love everything about Annandale. Hopefully, more walkable areas will develop.”
Here are some of the comments from the 26.4 percent of respondents who said Annandale is getting worse:
- “Columbia Pike from Burger King to Gallows is a mess. The road is not wide enough.”
- “Traffic remains a mess. It appears crime is up. Events like the Taste of Annandale are very helpful. Homeless and street-side begging is all over, so it’s not just an Annandale thing.”
- “Efforts seem to be growing but those with more power and influence are sitting on their hands.”
- Others mentioned crime and the homeless.
Community residents will have a chance to weigh in on the future of Annandale at a Town Hall later this fall at the Mason Government Center. Initially scheduled for Nov. 13, the event has been postponed.
The event, hosted by the Annandale-Mason Roundtable, will feature a discussion on what people consider the biggest issues in the community and offer an opportunity to brainstorm potential solutions.
Related story: Annandale Town Hall planned for fall 2024
The survey also asked people about their experience at the Taste of Annandale on Sept. 21.
When asked about their favorite thing at the event, most people cited the food.
Others mentioned the small businesses and other vendors, the entertainment, the pet contest, the music, the diversity, and the new venue (the Eileen Garnett Civic Space). One respondent mentioned access to the fire station for restrooms and an air-conditioned place to enjoy the food.
Another open-ended question asked what should be improved at the next Taste of Annandale. Here are some responses:
- More tables for eating, more shaded seating.
- Parking information.
- “A little more organization on the 5K route.”
- Add more arts and crafts.
- A bounce house and more games for kids.
- “Vendors should offer small tastes, so people could sample more items.”
- Expand it, with more booths.
- More diversity and more cultural groups.
- More variety of cuisines.
The Taste of Annandale Planning Committee will consider all this when we start thinking about the 2025 event.
In addition, the survey asked people to write down what Annandale Today news topics they’re most interested in.
Among the responses (in no particular order): crime, commercial development, local government, civic engagement, police activity, schools, parks, fires, incoming businesses, restaurants, local events, transportation, environmental issues, and the homeless situation.
12 responses to “More residents say Annandale is improving”
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Yep we’re really improving. The old Bon Chon restaurant is vacant field and an open garbage dump. The boarded up building is a collector of trash and is an eyesore. Does FFC zoning ever leave their offices to visit these places and contact the owners to clean them up or tear them down. How about FFC County cleaning them up an placing a lean on the property
Whoever is doing the space planning for all the business needs to be fired. We have too many fried chicken places and a new one coming in next to Aldi. Put in a salad place or something we don’t have. How is it even productive to have 4 fried chicken places next to each other it’s setting businesses to fail.
Space planning? No one does space planning, these are individual business decisions made by entrepreneurs or corporations in the hopes of attracting clients. If they succeed, hurrah for them. For example, Bonchon Chicken lost is place to the fire last year, but rather than pull up stakes they are relocating across the parking lot. Surely they know what they are doing? Other places may come and go, but if people want it they will be successful. Apparently, people like chicken.
You think a landlord is going to deny someone a lease because there are too many chicken places and should wait until a salad place comes along? While I agree it would be nice to have one, saying someone should be fired and thinking it’s the fault of the county or “space planning” is just absurd. You really want the county/government choosing or requiring where businesses go?
I grew up in Annandale in the 50’s and 60’s, graduated from Jefferson (before you had to be smart) and then George Mason U. I moved away for my career and returned a few years ago to be with family. I don’t believe Annandale has improved from the small town feel it had when I was a kid. It is ugly, one giant strip mall. Silverado is the only good restaurant. No Italian, Tex-Mex, or Southern Bar-B-Q places to eat. My wife and I have to drive to Arlington to find good restaurants. The lack of a Whole Foods or Wegmans tells us a lot about how the commercial world regards our demographics. Even my beloved Giant Food (I was there when it opened with Pick Temple on hand) has gone from show-place to ratty. It’s sad for me (a virtual native) to see how far Annandale has fallen.
I stopped reading after “Sliverado is the only good restaurant.” Told me all I needed to know.
Annandale is trying hard to find its soul and love from its citizens, businesses, institutions and political leaders. I’ve seen an improvement with more ethnic foods and civic events but still not yet much of a strong destination.
The Taste of Annandale and the Parade are huge attention gathers and should be applauded. Next year please place all the vendors on Columbia Pike for better visibility and so one can truly call it a street fair; use the park for entertainment, demonstrations, wildlife learning and children’s play areas.
Give Annandale some love, she will pay back in dividends and maybe a Wegmans 😊
Don’t even go to the McDs unless you like being accosted by drug addicted homeless people or watch prostitution transactions.
Is the building across from Safeway, next to the Shell, which has been vacant and in various stages of construction for 10 years ever going to open? There is still a fence around it
I’ve been wondering that myself. It grates on me, and I have to wonder how much longer before anyone does S OM E T H I N G about it but then I realize it’s probably the best looking of all the vacant buildings in the zip code.
So many other shops need face lifts, at the very least!! Landlords have priced out some decent small businesses over the years but it seems they can’t bring themselves to pay a penny for curb appeal. Yeah, lipstick on a pig and all that, but a mediocre or better store can draw more customers if it’s pleasant to look at and be in.
I have always thought of Annandale as being a underperforming eyesore, another stip mall that was “Anyplace USA,” banal, and lackluster. I always thought we suffered greatly due to the lack of a subway line that could have served the stretch from the Pentagon under Columbia Pike to Little River Tnpk. and Backlick Road. And now, I’m of the exact opposite impression. Without MetroRail, we avoided a nightmare — high rises and higher rises at every stop along that route, including throughout downtown Annandale, at the corner of Columbia Pike and Sleepy Hollow, through Bailey’s Crossroads, etc. We would be suffering under astronomical housing prices, and we would be stuck in a land that looks like Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, Ballston, Reston TC, etc. I will gladly take what we have over that massive mess any day. As a result, we have an amazing selection of unique grocery stores and small businesses that can afford rent and provide incredible services. We are also blessed with a phenomenal array of restaurant choices that offer reasonable prices and really great food, which is what we had the opportunity to appreciate during Taste of Annandale. I’ll take what we have any day over what exists on the Orange and Blue lines. And yet. . . It sure would be nice if we had a Fairfax County Government Supervisor who would fight for and win our share of funding to beautify and update our downtown. It seems like all of our tax dollars are funding the western reaches of Fairfax County. We need a lot more community activism.
Annandale is a disaster of poor planning, a transient suburban population of DC workers [Gov and GovCon] and ZERO leadership. Crime is at an all time high and our prosecutors don’t prosecute criminals. Not hard to know how this is all going to end for us.