Falls Church officials used the recent unveiling of “Saigon Blvd” signage to reaffirm support of the city’s immigrant and second-generation communities.
Following up on a promise two years in the making, city officials on Jan. 22 formally unveiled signs for “Saigon Blvd” in the 6600 and 6700 blocks of Wilson Blvd.
The honorary signage, approved by the City Council last year, stands in front of the 15-acre Eden Center, a central hub for Northern Virginia’s Vietnamese-American community.
Mayor Letty Hardi praised the hard work of the Vietnamese immigrant community and their descendants in creating “a cultural haven in Northern Virginia and the East Coast.”
The honorary name will have no legal standing and will not impact mail or public-safety services.
But with the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City) approaching, it was an appropriate time to recognize the immigrant community’s contributions, community leaders said.
“We understand the importance,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay, who attended the event with Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez in support of the Falls Church effort.
The honorary renaming was part of the follow-up to Falls Church’s planning study of the easternmost part of the town, near Seven Corners. The signage effort represented a collaboration between the city of Falls Church, Viet Place Collective and the Eden Center management.
“We are just really honored,” said Graham Eddy, vice president of Eden Center.
Advocates for the Vietnamese-American community came to the event with a request. They expressed hope the the city government would soon have at least one staff member fluent in Vietnamese.
Such a staff member could support economic-development efforts, as well as serve as a liaison between the city and older residents, for whom Vietnamese might remain their primary language.
Hardi thanked attendees for braving temperatures well below freezing — and about 70 degrees below that day’s 93-degree high half a world away in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City.
The mayor noted that the looming 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and collapse of the South Vietnam government on April 30, 1975, would represent a “somber and significant day” for the local Vietnamese-American community.
Places like Eden Center are the living embodiment of “the stories, the dreams, the aspirations” of immigrants everywhere, Hardi said.
Fairfax County could be next in bestowing the honorary name “Saigon Blvd” on its stretch of Wilson Blvd near Seven Corners.
McKay nodded in the affirmative when asked at the ceremony whether Fairfax would be willing to join Falls Church in renaming the area in front of the Eden Center in honor of the one-time South Vietnamese capital.
The renaming would help “preserve the cultural heritage and traditions” that are now “more important than ever” while “making sure that legacy continues,” McKay said.
Restaurateurs and shop owners that initially had settled in Arlington’s Clarendon neighborhood after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975 by the 1980s had begun to use Eden Center, on a parcel where Falls Church, Fairfax and Arlington come together.
More recently, Falls Church officials used a consultant to develop a plan for what city leaders call the Eastern Gateway, including the Eden Center site, nearby Koons dealerships and various residential, office and retail buildings.
The plan looks at development opportunities on the roughly 70 acres through the year 2050. It calls for continuation of the Eden Center site for commercial uses, but doesn’t rule out the possibility of mixed-use redevelopment in the future.
Discussion Sought on City Fire Services: A member of the Falls Church City Council thinks it’s the appropriate time to focus on prospective changes in city fire and emergency-medical (EMS) services.
“I want to make sure we’ve got the fire resources we need,” Council member David Snyder said at a Wednesday meeting where Council members and staff worked through the city government’s upcoming calendar of events.
Recent development throughout the city means “we have much higher buildings than we’ve ever had,” said Snyder, who asked City Manager Wyatt Shields to schedule a work session on fire issues.
Falls Church contracts with the Arlington County government for fire-and-rescue services, paying about $3 million a year in support of Fire Station #6 on Little Falls Road.
The funding provides for 33 fire/EMS personnel assigned to the station. Operations are augmented by the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department, which is marking its centennial in 2025.
According to the city’s adopted fiscal year 2025 budget, fire/EMS personnel responded to 1,066 calls within the city limits in the preceding year, including 12 fires and just over 700 medical calls.
Towing, Tree Canopy on Council Agenda: Falls Church leaders on Feb. 3 are slated to have a work session with members of their Economic Development Authority on potential updates to the city’s towing regulations.
A draft ordinance for public review is slated to be discussed in early March, with action to follow at a later public hearing.
A Council work session on March 3 will include a scoping discussion on efforts to increase Falls Church’s tree canopy, with an initiating resolution set for a week later.
Community engagement, public hearings and final action will follow.
