FAIRFAX, Va. — Fairfax city officials took a walk around Old Town Fairfax with community members Saturday morning to talk about what’s old, what’s new, what’s coming, and what’s going.
"It’s been a long time changing," Trish Fabio said. Fabio was one of several people walking around Old Town discussing what changes are needed and what changes are coming to the city.
After living in Fairfax for 37 years, she said she’s ready for Old Town Fairfax to go back to being a vibrant downtown.
"We trying to keep the historical charm with the growth, but we do want new growth," Fabio said.
Fabio worked with other Fairfax City Citizens for Smarter Growth members to organize Saturday’s walk around the city.
"A lot of them focused around the desire for a more walkable, slightly more dense area with some smarter planning," Fairfax's Director of Economic Development Christopher Bruno said of the walk. "A reemphasize on the focus of the automobile access and the heightened emphasis on bike-ability and walkability."
Bruno said one of the underlying themes they’ve heard is how to connect people with places.
"We have a lot of older buildings here and a lot of newer businesses here," Bruno said. "When you have older buildings and newer businesses you have that great chemistry of having new businesses re-purpose older buildings or establish themselves in an established business community."
Bruno said they’re working on creating a destination point in northern Virginia for businesses and families.
He said they will take the feedback they heard today and use that information when making future planning decisions.