New movie theater planned

For those of you who miss the movie theater on Lee Highway in Merrifield, there is some good news. Phase 1 of the redevelopment project underway in that area will include a new movie theatre to be completed in late 2011 or early 2012, reports Julie Culbreath, communications director at Edens & Avant, the Columbia, S.C.,-based company that is developing the Mosaic District project.

The 31-acre site will also include a 150-room hotel, office buildings, about 1,000 housing units (both market rate and affordable), five parking decks, two parks for community events, and a pedestrian-friendly “Festival Street.” Shuttle serve will connect the site to the Dunn-Loring Metro Station, which is about three-quarters of a mile away.

In April, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors created the county’s first Community Development Authority (CDA) to facilitate the Merrifield project. The plan calls for Edens & Avant to fund a $30 million portion of the public facilities to be constructed on the site through a 30-year bond to be issued by the CDA, whose debt service will be paid by a self assessment.

Edens & Avant also will fund a $42 million portion of new public facilities, including road improvements, parks, and a portion of the parking garage, through a 22-year bond also issued through the CDA whose debt service will be paid through incremental real estate tax revenues. The road improvements include expansion of Eskridge Road and Lee Highway and upgrades to the Lee-Gallows intersection.