Falls Church Briefly

Hilton Garden Inn Coming to Falls Church City

A Hilton Garden Inn moved closer to reality for the City of Falls Church when the City Council on Monday (July 25) unanimously approved special exceptions requested by the project’s developers for building height and zoning.  The Planning Commission had approved the project on July 18.  Construction of the hotel at 706 W. Broad St. could begin as early as October.

Details of the $20 million project include:

110 rooms, six stories with an adjacent parking ramp, 3,000 square feet of conference space, a pool, and food service.

The owners are Gosnell Palmer Holdings, LLC, who own and operate a portfolio of hotels, primarily located in Virginia, through related companies.

Construction is expected to begin this fall and delivery is expected in the 4th quarter of 2012, with opening in early 2013.

The owners are expected to achieve LEED certification for the hotel and will strive for LEED Silver.

Emergency Preparedness Online

Do you know how to respond if disaster strikes where you live or where you work?

If your family members are in different locations, do you have a plan for how you will contact each other and how you can reunite at a safe location?

If your business is directly impacted by a disaster, do you have a plan to re-establish critical business operations at a secondary location?

The 12 jurisdictions in Northern Virginia have partnered to create an online family preparedness planner and an online business preparedness planner to assist residents and businesses in the region become better prepared. Both planners, online at www.ReadyNova.org, provide an easy-to-use tool for developing emergency plans that follow basic and accepted emergency management practices.

The family preparedness planner provides a way for families to develop their emergency plan, a family communications plan and guidelines for developing their emergency survival kit.

The business preparedness planner provides a detailed process for businesses to develop their emergency plan, including continuity of operations, communications plans and also to identify the process for the return to their facility after a disaster.

Both planners meet ADA requirements for accessibility. Additionally, user privacy is guaranteed – no personal or business information is saved by the website or either planner application.

The ReadyNova.org website was made possible by a Department of Homeland Security grant and was coordinated by the partner localities that make up the Northern Virginia metropolitan region.

Northern Virginia Jurisdictions: The cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park; the towns of Herndon and Vienna; and Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince William County and Stafford County.