Board of Supervisors OKs $50K to Help Vienna Boost Business

Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors approved funding to help the Town of Vienna find economic development solutions.

The Town of Vienna approached the county earlier this year about splitting the cost of an economic development strategy and market study totaling $100,000.

The town set aside its $50,000 half when it approved its fiscal year 2020 budget.

Recently, the town has taken steps recently to work towards boosting its economic development and address vacancies plaguing Maple Avenue.

The town created its first-ever economic development manager position in the summer and hired a business development manager in Arlington County for the role in November.

The town had a 15% vacancy rate with 138 vacant spaces — 68 of which are on Maple Avenue, Scott Sizer from the Department of Economic Initiatives told the Board of Supervisors during a Budget Committee in September.

The new strategy and study — which could take up to a year to complete — are meant to revitalize Maple Avenue, find more efficient use of resources to address the vacancies, discover how to aid business recruitment and create place-making strategies, Sizer said.

“The proposed project is an opportunity to support [the] revitalization of the Town’s Maple Avenue corridor and improve property tax revenues for the county and town,” according to county documents, noting that the new economic development manager will oversee the studies and implement the recommendations.

The board approved the $50,000 yesterday (Tuesday). The funds are coming from the Economic Opportunity Reserve.