To the editor:
We are writing to register our opinion about the proposed development in the Belleview Shopping Center.
We are dismayed that plans are underway to change the whole character and purpose of the Belleview Shopping Center. It makes no sense to us on any level. Here are a few of the concerns that have come to mind:
• The development will take place in a flood plain with all the environmental ramifications that entails. I am thinking back to Isabel.
• The ruination of the ambiance and aesthetic of an historic neighborhood dating back to the middle of the last century.
• The negative impact such a development will have on surrounding property values.
• The nightmare traffic will become unbearable given that since BRAC consolidation it has become a two-hour rush “hour” down Fort Hunt Road.
• The loss of retail space on which many, especially the elderly, depend in our area, forcing them to find a way to distant shopping stores by public transportation if they are not able to drive themselves.
• The surfeit of rental units on Rt. 1 already. The complex at Beacon Hill upon which we have heard the design of these units will be based is cheap and ugly.
• The fact that rebuilding the rec center across Fort Hunt Road will take years, meaning it will be happening simultaneously for at least part of the time.
These are the main reasons we stand firmly against the project that is currently on the drawing board for Belleview shopping center.
-Cassie and Michael Arnold, Belleview Terrace
