The Observer Newspapers |Downtown Development Good for Town

April 17, 2008

Downtown Development Good for Town

To the editor:

I have been following the recent developments concerning Herndon's downtown re-development. In light of the current economic conditions, I was not surprised when JPI Development pulled the plug on their mixed use project back in February.

Now the focus has shifted to Diamond Properties proposal to build a high-end hotel with retail and parking at the corner of Elden and Monroe streets across from Anita's.

This project is scheduled to come before the Planning Commission in early May. Some will say that it is too big and doesn't fit in. They will say this even though Diamond Properties has revised their proposed design to reflect some of the input they have received. This is exactly how the process should proceed and it appears to be working in this case. Diamond Properties seems to be going the extra mile to try and be sensitive to the needs and concerns of the Town and residents while dealing with the economic parameters that will insure the projects success.

There are many reasons why this proposal should ultimately be approved once the details and issues are worked out. One reason is the reality of the positive tax revenue that the town would receive. I have heard estimates as high as $1.5 million. I expect that town staff can and should do some homework to verify this. By far the town's biggest source of revenue is property taxes. This kind of project will help diversify the tax base so that homeowners carry less of the tax burden while realizing the benefit of the improvements that are being proposed.

Let there be no mistake, the process really has just begun and it must be carefully managed in order to make it a good proposition for the town and the developer. This kind of opportunity doesn't come along too often and we should embrace the possibilities that it represents.

We can start by letting the Planning Commission and Town Council know that we support moving forward with downtown re-development and that we trust them to listen to all concerns and do what is right for the town.

John Neil

Herndon