Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 5 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
years (with or without Disney).
There may be more quality orien-' tated developers in this country than The Walt Disney Company, but I cannot think of any. One of the many advantages to having the theme park arrive at this time is that given the observation of the growth that is already occurring, hopefully renewed citizen/govemment planning will focus on the total compliment of needs and recommitement to quality growth. While I do not personally know any of the representatives of the Disney organization, I do know a few professionals who have worked for them at their other facilities. They tell me of the professionalism of the company, and their expertize in planning and transportation is second to none.
Of course there are issues that need to be addressed. However, working together, friends and critics, all of the challenges could be satisfied. Will the results be perfect? No! Can balance be reached between needs and wants? Yes!
As an example, 1-66, east of Dulles airport is long overdue for widening (with or without Disney). There is too much vacacy in the office buildings in the area of Dulles and elsewhere in the area. As confidence in the local real estate market matures those vacancies will disappear. The result will be reassessments of their tax bases. In turn, such counties as Fairfax could come closer to balancing the tax burden between resident^ and commerical sources.
The draw to the new theme park will spin-off tourists to the many other excellent attractions in Virginia as well as D.C., Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. There are many tourists that, once they arrive in any given vacation spot for, say three to five days, will visit other attractions within two to three hours of their primary location. Within two hours of the proposed theme park are such points of interest as Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Annapolis, Baltimore, Richmond, Mt. Vernon, the many features of Washington, Monticello and Kings Dominion to name just a few.
Jobs have been a major point of discussion. As it should be! However, the projected job creation estimates I have read are vastly Under estimated. Already there are contactors travelling to this area from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, D.C., Maryland, and far southern Virginia to work on the sites already under development. This will increase, and as the Northern Virginia counties develop there are and will be more “sub-hubs” of communities developing southward. So, we are talking about short-term and permanent employment opportunities that if uninterrupted, could continue for
93.1%