The rebirth of Downtown Herndon is one of the most important challenges that our Town will face in the near future. The dream of a revitalized downtown has been alive for more than twenty years. Indeed, we have witnessed several attempts to make this dream a reality.
When the current Council took office in 2006, we were presented with a contract for the purchase of land in the downtown area at an inflated price – higher than what benefits that could be derived from this deal. Wisely, we chose not to ratify this proposal.
There are several important development proposals forthcoming that offer the potential to transform the downtown into a lively, attractive, functional, community-oriented center of Herndon. I anticipate a “reborn” downtown that will have retail shops, offices and amenities that attract a wide range of people. It will offer “night life” and well as attracting the lunch-time crowd. This new downtown will blend harmoniously into and will complement the existing core downtown area businesses.
Many of Herndon`s citizens recognize both the need for this rebirth and the challenges inherent in trying to make the Downtown business area a place to be proud of. Many of you have spoken at a number of public hearings and meetings between the development community and our residents.
Like many of you, I support the goal of having a core downtown area that offers amenities and pledge to work collaboratively with the citizens and businesses to achieve this goal. I pledge, as a member of the 2008-2010 Council, to work to leverage the town's property into much greater value and value added to the community than the present holdings warrant.
To make the dream a reality, I will continue to solicit citizen input. I promise to address those challenges in a way that maximizes the benefits to our community. I promise to work to ensure that this proposed downtown development blends harmoniously with the existing neighborhoods.
Vote to re-elect Charlie D. Waddell to the Herndon Town Council on Tuesday, May 6, 2008
