A Virginia city’s plans for a Vietnamese shopping center worries some business owners they could be pushed out.
Falls Church has been working on long-term plans for Eden Center.
When Huy Pham heard about redevelopment plans, he worried about his Vietnamese street food business.
“Will it affect the Vietnamese community?” he wondered. “Will Eden Center still be the same?”
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Over the past year, the city has been gathering input for a small area plan – a vision of what Falls Church will look like over the next few decades. The plan includes things like more housing, green space and community centers.
“Obviously, the intention was never to scare folks about what might happen in the area,” Falls Church Director of Planning Paul Stoddard said. “The intention was to say, ‘Hey, there’s probably going to be redevelopment in the area.’”
Some Eden Center business owners say they’re worried rising rents could drive them out, so activist group Viet Place Collective got involved to speak up on their behalf.
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“They’re not used to being asked for their opinion,” said Jenn Tran of Viet Place Collective. “They’re not used to being heard. Us coming along and saying, ‘What’s important to you?’ was the first time that their opinion has really been amplified.”
The group asked the city to offer grants to longtime shop owners as well as create more parking and bus stops to help bring in business.
The activist group also asked the city for several other things to help preserve the heritage and history, including hiring Vietnamese American artists to do all the public art displays and officially naming the area “Little Saigon East.”
“We just want to make sure that the very thing that makes Eden Center Eden Center, which is the Vietnamese community, stays here,” said Victor Nguyen-Long of Viet Place Collective.
Falls Church said it is working to honor as many of the requests as possible.
“Putting developers on notice that if they do come in over the next several years with an application, that’s what the community’s looking for,” Stoddard said.
“Some people actually come from England, France or Germany, you know,” Pham said. “They come here to enjoy the culture. So, please keep the culture.”
The current version of the city’s plan includes a Vietnamese cultural center and a hotel where Eden Center visitors could stay. The Falls Church City Council tentatively expects to vote on the plan at the end of June.
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