It amazes me how parochial so many local leaders and neighbors are about the university. We have a world-class university, along with tons of entertainment, right in our backyard.

As for Fairfax City--the town is dead. Storefronts are empty and restaurants are constantly going out of business. Why wouldn't you want to attract a college crowd. Why not invest in a reasonably priced college-themed luncheonette or a real diner. They have places in most college towns that have great food and real ambiance. Penn State has Ye Olde College Diner--it's a student tradition to eat their sticky buns after they move onto campus. Fairfax really needs something like that.

As the article alluded to Penn State and UVA are not analogous to GMU. Fairfax and Fairfax city are suburban family environments and GMU is right in the middle of it. Fairfax will never be a "college town" however, there is an opportunity to capitalize on that without disturbing or changing that atmosphere. University mall for example is in a prime location that has old stores, restaurants, bars, and a run down movie theater. There is already a couple new spots there and It would be a great place to renovate more from the ground up and can cater to both Mason students and the current community.

Before the City of Fairfax decides to give Mason the keys to the city, they may well want to investigate what havoc. problems, and mayhem many Mason students have wraught in the Fairfax County neighborhoods surrounding Mason, as well as the woeful school responses to county community concerns. Between Mason students' behaviors and life habits, and the school's well-demonstrated lack of interest in their students' impact on the community once thay are off campus, such an investigation by the City would be most well-advised and eye-opening.

As a member of the GMU community and a homeowner in the City of Fairfax, I agree that the city needs to find a way to embrace the University. Quite frankly, the city needs to embrace it's own community members. It is great that there are so many places to eat in the city, but where do you go for entertainment? You always need to go out to Fair Lakes, or now Merrifield. You can embrace both communities without it being about bars and/or clubs. In fair lakes, there are movie theaters, places to eat and places to shop. All downtown Fairfax City has are places to eat. You can tell me there is TJ Maxx and a Ross coming into town, and that's great, but can the city please up their game and have something of more quality. Open a cafe that has live bands, a movie theater, something that will bring people to the city for more than just the chocolate festival and the fall festival.

All this does is remind me of the absence of TT Reynolds. I went there as a high-schooler from West Springfield, and after a degree from JMU as well as master's coursework at GMU, and about another 10 years of aging, while Fat Tuesday's is still around, i miss having walkable options all in the city limits. All food businesses does not a "downtown" make. Go back to one-way travel, street-parking and a little bit of willingness to not homogenize the 4-6 block area that is "downtown."
and thanks to the Green Turtle, there's plenty of college kids downtown. Last time I remember, i was broke as a joke in college, so be cautious about what level of financial windfall this is expected to bring.

A dialogue is an important first step. People need to be the change they seek. Solutions aren't going to come from programs, they'll come from people with new ideas. We need more unique small businesses downtown to attract more people if every age. The city can try to attract those business owners but a trip downtown shows them the low level of activity. People gather where there are already people. I point to the Spanish Steps in Rome as a great example of that. I think the expanded park will prove to be a source of vitality for the city that will feed the businesses around it. Assuming people will be welcomed there and not chased off as a nuisance. I guess we'll see.

I don't understand how a park will ever bring people to a downtown, until businesses occupy the vacant buildings. There are two parks within walking distance of downtown. There should be a green and gold trolley that cruises up and down University Drive every twenty minutes. There should be a team of GMU interns to work with the city and businesses to help market the downtown and make it appealing to college students of all ages, as well as new businesses. Young people have great ideas of how to make things happen. They need to be welcomed- not shunned by the community. And I'm not sure what mayhem GMU students bring to the county, but I know how much $$ they bring to the area. The school is full of students of all ages. If residents don't want the college students downtown, they should start bringing some money into the downtown and stop spending all of their money outside the city. Fairfax should continue to work with GMU and take advantage of the school as a resource. It's a shame they want to be here and people don't want them. Until they are welcomed, any new business moving into downtown is taking even a bigger risk than just the risk of starting a business, alone.

Signs saying "Welcome to Mason Nation"? Gimme a break.

University Mall is a dump for a reason. It's convenient shopping for students, and reflects their shallow pockets. Care to bring that ambience to downtown Fairfax, as well?

I'd like to see GMU put a lid on growth. Every time I drive past the campus, more trees are gone, and another ugly building is going up. This is progress?

It's odd that City leaders now say they want to be a college town, but last year they sold the old 11 Oaks School site to be developed into luxury homes. That site, right adjacant to campus and along George Mason Blvd, would have made an excellent downtown-type district and wouldn't adversely affect any city neighborhoods. Imagine George Mason Blvd lined with Charlottesville-type shops: That would have invigorated campus much more than "Mason Nation" signs at intersections.

When we first moved to the city 25 years ago, a sheet was delilvered to our house regularly re: things to do on campus...concerts, plays, etc. etc. Now I can find out through my membership in Mason's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). but there is no easy way for most people to discover what Mason has to offer to city residents. It works both ways, you know.

Wow - I try to stay away from commenting, but these postings and the purpose of the city council meeting last evening needs a bit of clarification. The reality is that the University has been our neigbhor for nearly 60 years. We need to embrace it - it helps our local economy, which is one of the strongest in Virginia (per capita sales tax revenue. We also expect the University to be good neighbors and I believe they have gone to great lengths to improve town-gown relations. The spirit of last night's meeting was to continue to build on recent progress between the City and Mason.

As far as downtown, I understand the frustration with lack of retail and entertainment, which I clearly stated at the meeting last night. Our downtown is progressing, but clearly needs more - including a larger footprint. The current two blocks is just two small from my perspective. Let's also not forget the redevelopment projects that are coming soon, including Fairfax Circle and Turnpike Center. In addition several spots on Route 50 have been redeveloped and Fair City Mall has undergone a major transfomation over the past 5 years and now has several leading retailers.

Let's all think creatively (as Catherine Read suggests) and start finding our niche - not everything will work in every location. Feel free to send suggestions to me.

scott.silverthorne@fairfaxva.gov
R. Scott Silverthorne, Mayor

I agree that we need to embrace Mason and while downtown Fairfax will not be like other college towns, that can be a good thing. But the fact is that we retailers need whomever is most likely to come downtown. Mason is next door- downtown could be a perfect environment for a nice mix of shopping, eats, and entertainment, for all ages. We are not surviving on traffic from the existing formula, so I (and other businesses) are all for working more with Mason. But it does take efforts from all, and I applaud the first steps by school leaders and city leaders. Help keep doors open and help welcome students to this historic town, so it does not become a ghost town. Retailers are struggling and doors are closing. We need more than a couple of historic buildings and a park, there needs to be a nice mix and flow for people to enjoy spending time downtown!

Mason offers shuttles to students to the city of Fairfax, which is good (and I'm not sure that many people are really using it) but it still doesn't have that "walkability" factor. The walk from campus to downtown Fairfax runs through a residential neighborhood which is awkward, and honestly, I'd much rather stay on campus than have to walk through that when there are dining options on campus. In downtown Fairfax, there aren't many places for students to just "hang out." The roads that cut through downtown are too busy and have too much traffic for there to be sidewalk cafes or anything of the sort. Having traditions and places to create them, like eating sticky buns at a local mom & pop shop, like another person mentioned, is also the way to go. I think University Mall has potentially more "walkability" points to it than Fairfax City. Maybe turning it into an outdoor shopping center like Fairfax Corner or Mosaic District where you see people both working, living, and relaxing instead of simply just shopping or dining will help. We can't create a Mason "Nation" with just the students and faculty of the university, but we need the support from the surrounding community as well.

I am a law abiding adult and I won't go out in Fairfax because of the Gestapo police. Watch it you are going 5 mph over the speed limit much less out for a drink -- not worth it.

I have frequently spotted George Mason University Police intruding onto Fairfax City police jurisdiction. While I don't know specific regulations regarding this; it should be looked into. What's the status of the park/plaza in Old Town? I had heard that it was supposed to open over the holiday season. Additionally to clarify, Turnpike Shopping Center is looking to be done with tenants mostly moved in mid-year and University Mall is looking to be done in the fall with a 6,000 sq ft Italian restaurant. Hopefully, the Italian restaurant will become popular and be a pleasant place to have a meal. The Fairfax Circle redevelopment (according to plans) would be a mixed use center, which wouldn't be completed in the near-ish future. The main issue is the distance from Old Town Plaza (for example) and GMU can be a lot longer during rush hour.

I strongly agree with the sentiments expressed by Becky S.

The City of Fairfax suffers from the environment that the city officials purposely created:
* High taxes that are not friendly to businesses.
* Slow moving traffic; traffic jams; unnecessarily slow speed limits.
* To few parking spaces that are not friendly to businesses or shoppers.
* High business taxes that communicate hostility to businesses.
* Over regulated architectural limitations to maintain the old town look.
* High business taxes that get passed on to shoppers, buyers and investors.
* Intentionally engineered barriers to traffic flow.
* Red light cameras that most drivers hate.

SUMMARY:
Fairfax City is a nice place;
Fairfax City is a historic city;
Taxes are too high;
Traffic is too slow;
Insufficient close-in parking for businesses and their customers;
Fairfax City is a dead city, which appears to be what city politicians want and plan for.
Fairfax City is a place that most drivers, shoppers, and business owners want to avoid at all costs;

REMEMBER:
If you put any government in charge of the Mohave Desert, there will soon be a shortage of sand.

Fairfax City politicians have strong regulatory and tax controls over businesses, so it should be no surprise that there is a shortage of business that might attract the young crowd from the university.