MR. KOJO NNAMDIFrom the McLean Community Center in McLean, Va., it's "Kojo In Your Community." You know, it's been said that McLean, Va., wasn't founded, that it just kind of happened, that more than a hundred years ago, long before the Beltway or the CIA even existed, a community sprouted out of The Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad that cut through the northern neck of Virginia. Those railroad tracks are long gone, and McLean has since become a quiet suburb better known for its isolation from transit and the urban bump and grind.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIEven though it's less than 10 miles from the White House as the crow flies, but the rails are once again poised to define this place. Constructions underway to bring Metro right to McLean's doorstep and straight into the teeth of its noisier neighbor, Tysons Corner, a commercial hub that's bracing for big changes of its own. So what does this moment mean for those who live, work and raise families in McLean? And what opportunities are there for McLean to transform itself into a modern suburb of the future? That's one of the reasons we're here at the McLean Community Center.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIAnd in order to help facilitate this conversation, we have invited Jacque-Lynne Schulman, who is the president of the McLean Historical Society and the Fairfax County Historical Society. Jacque-Lynne, thank you so much for joining us. (applause) Also with us is Tom Jacobi, president and owner of Langley Photo & Digital. That's a business located on Chain Bridge Road in McLean. Tom, thank you for joining us. You are both long-time residents of McLean. So starting with you, Jacque-Lynne, tell us what this community looked like, oh, 25 or 30 years ago. What was here?

MS. JACQUE-LYNN SHULMANI'm gonna exaggerate just a bit about the time span. There was, in downtown McLean, there was a bowling alley and a movie theater. If you went out Kirby Road, there was farm stand on almost every corner. There were still cornfields that the stall cups rented. That big thing at Tysons was there, but it was only half the size it is now. The CIA was there, but it didn't have a sign announcing its presence.

MS. JACQUE-LYNN SHULMANIt was a big sleeping secret gorilla. And recently, the school system had closed the Louisville (sp?) Elementary School and turned it into -- allowed use as a community center for senior citizens' day activities and some residential. Shortly following that, of course, several local schools became overcrowded and had to have what we call parcos, (sp?) and other places call trailers, but that would be a little bit down in the -- going towards the future.

MS. JACQUE-LYNN SHULMANI think that the community was not very different from it is -- what it is today. There was a hobby shop. There was a pet store that had live animals. There was a dress shop. There was a men's clothing shop and a shoe store. Those are all gone. And I think those little bits are part of what makes a community, at least for shopping. When I talk to people who have lived here a great long time, who went to the old Franklin Sherman and remember our fire escape that was really to -- that naughty boys would slide down to get out of homework assignments. I think that for that earlier time, the difference was before and after the Beltway. And I've heard this from a number of people, that before the Beltway, McLean was somehow a village unto itself. And after the Beltway, it became suburb like any other.

NNAMDIIn the future, we'll be hearing about before and after Metro came to Tysons Corner. But, Tom Jacobi, what are your memories? And if there's anyone here in our studio audience who would like to share their own memories of McLean two decades or three decades ago, feel free to join the conversation by raising your hand. Share some of your memories with us, Tom Jacobi.

MR. TOM JACOBII've been here since 1964. And I think my best memory is the circus and the ferris wheel that used to be across from Rite Aid drugstore, where the townhouses are over there. And a lot of people don't know but behind the bowling alley -- I'm sure some of the older people here remember -- not that I participated in this, but there used to be a junk car back there behind the bowling alley where all the kids would drink beer, and you'd go back there, and it was just piled high as can be with beer cans back there. And I remember that. And then there also used to be a rental store...

NNAMDII'm surprised you remember anything else.

JACOBIYeah. (laugh) I don't. And the -- we used to have a rental store, which is where Joe's Burgers -- or next door to Joe's Burgers, what used to be McLean rentals was there. I remember that. And one of my best -- not best, one of my memories I have the most is when my older sister was about 13 or 14 years old, we were walking past the bowling alley. And next to the bowling alley was the McLean radiator shop, and next to radiator shop was a real redneck bar that was there. And they used to keep the front door open on that.

JACOBIAnd, you know, my sister was pretty girl, and we’re walking down the street. It was my first experience with her getting whistled at through the radiator shop as we were walking on the street. So it -- but I agree with Jacque-Lynne that McLean is still...

NNAMDIWait, wait. Allow me to interrupt. You didn't feel the need to defend your sister's honor?

JACOBI(laugh) She's a pretty girl. She got whistled at. I think I would have been more disappointed if she didn't get whistled at. But I think McLean stayed as a nice -- it still is a village. I mean, the houses have gotten bigger. I still think there's still lot of people -- you know, same type of people live here as back then. There's, you know, probably more money than there was back then. But I still think McLean still is a nice village, and that's what makes it fun to be here 'cause you get -- from my experience, I've had experience like, you know, I never would get anywhere else.

JACOBII've gotten to meet the President of the United States. I met Supreme Court justices and stuff. Just -- they're normal people when they come into the store. And I think I've been very fortunate, and that's what I think makes McLean really, really nice as there's a lot just nice, normal people that come in too so...

NNAMDIWell, we can move the conversation forward even though you're still welcome to share your memories of McLean. But how is it likely to change? How has your life changed since construction began to bring Metro to Tysons Corner? How would you describe the relationship between where you live and Tysons Corner? But first, you, ma'am.

MS. DORIS RAYOh, hi. I'm Doris Ray. I will move it forward. I came to McLean in 1973, screaming and kicking from Montgomery County, Md. And very quickly, I learned to love the village atmosphere and the fact that I could walk to everything that I needed -- all the amenities like grocery stores and pharmacies and dry cleaners and just about everything -- and spend time, many hours in the McLean Family Restaurant and other restaurants in the area, and then just get on one bus because I'm a blind person and I depend on public transit to Tysons Corner.

MS. DORIS RAYAnd I lived here for 16 years. But when our house was sold, two things happened. One, it was at the height of real estate boom, and I couldn't afford a condo here. And the second thing was that by that time, the county had taken the bus service on my side of McLean, which was at the Salona Village side of McLean near this community center, basically, and cut it down to commuter service. So going forward, I would love to return to McLean, although I live happily in Mason District right now of Fairfax County. But I come back here for all kinds of businesses that I still deal with, and I'd love to come back to live.

MS. DORIS RAYBut I look for the county and so does the disability community -- I work for the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia -- we look for the county to ensure that those stations, Metro stations that are being built in Tysons are accessible to all, that the urban community that's -- and rebuilding of Tysons that will happen will ensure accessible sidewalks and pedestrian rights of way and traffic intersections, including audible signals and sufficient bus service to central McLean to make it workable to use those stations because, frankly, where I lived here when West Falls Church station opened and for years after that, but you know what, I take cab every time I wanted to go to West Falls Church station. So that's what I'd like to see.

NNAMDIWe will make sure that you are heard. But I wanna go back for one second here because you said, I had to be dragged, kicking and screaming from Montgomery County. Were you kicking and screaming because you had to leave Montgomery County, or were you kicking and screaming at Montgomery County?

RAY(laugh) No, because I had to leave Montgomery County because I had grown up in Silver Spring and gone to the University of Maryland and was living in Rockville, and I liked it. But you know what, when I got over here, I, as I said, I really, really liked the environment, particularly in central McLean. And at that time, just being able to go up and use the facilities at Tysons and yet get into Arlington and to the subway. But yeah, I was -- it was not because I have anything else -- Montgomery County was -- in fact, I love Montgomery County. But when I got here, I loved Fairfax so much that I made a conscious decision to stay in Fairfax County when I had to move.

NNAMDII was hoping we'd found a Montgomery County hater. We could start a county war going. We're coming to you from the Alden Theater at the McLean Community Center in McLean. We have somebody over here. Go right ahead, please, sir.

MR. EDDIE AICHESMy name is Eddie Aiches. (sp?) And I moved to McLean Tax District in 1984. And we moved to McLean/Falls Church because -- part of McLean is called Falls Church -- exactly for the Metro. That is, we were waiting for the West Falls Church Metro to open. And I remember the days when we would -- they'd actually set up a shuttle bus in the West Falls Church Metro lot to get us geared up to use the Metro when it did open.

MR. EDDIE AICHESAnd quite frankly, we were all very, very excited, especially for our children, that there was a Metro. And many, many of us use the Metro now either at West Falls Church or a lot of us take the bus down to Ballston, straight down Old Dominion. So it's not like we don't want the Metro. I think a lot of us do want the Metro. You know, McLean -- we moved to McLean for the schools. The schools are still excellent. There is clearly more diversity than in 1984. Where we live now in McLean quote "proper," on one side of my house is a Finnish family, on the other side of my house is a Chinese family and across the street is an Afghan family.

NNAMDIThank you so much. We're in McLean, Va., suburban community wedged in between the Beltway, the CIA and the commercial craziness of Tysons Corner. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.

NNAMDIIt's "Kojo In Your Community." We're coming to you from the McLean Community Center in McLean, Va. I'm Kojo Nnamdi. Yes, we have someone else up here. Go right ahead, please, sir.

GRANTYes. My name is Grant, and I'm a long-time McLean resident. My parents moved here in 1972, I believe. And I went to Langley High School. I've known Tom, actually, a long time from his days at running Langley Electronics. And...

NNAMDIDid you know about the beer?

GRANTWell, I didn't know about his beer. But I... (laugh)

NNAMDIJust checking.

GRANTYeah.

JACOBIThank God.

GRANTI found beer other ways. But -- and I remember the bowling alley. I remember everything that -- almost everything that Jacque-Lynne was referencing from -- and those are great -- I loved growing up here. It was a great place to grow up. It was a fun place. And I have actually chosen to raise my family here, not too far away. We live in Great Falls, and my kids go to the same high school that I went to. And the school, unfortunately, the physical plant of the school hasn't changed, which is a bad thing because it really could use -- it's in the queue to get renovated but hasn't been renovated yet. It looks very much the same as it did when I went there, you know, 30 years ago.

JACOBILooks like they got rid of the smoking lounge.

GRANTYeah, I remember. Smoking lounge is no more. I remember that. I remembered that too. Yeah.

JACOBIThank God. Yeah.

GRANTBut one thing I was going to reference in terms of the Metro coming, you know, I'm actually a real estate developer, and we are developing a project very close to one of the Metro stops, the furthest Metro stop in Tysons. And we bought the old Moore Cadillac dealership. And we're anxiously awaiting the Metro to come to allow us to be able to bring to Tysons a mixed use development that, you know, we're -- that this area needs that really it doesn't have at this point.

NNAMDIWell, I'd like to ask others. How do you typically travel between where you live in Tysons Corner? Do you ever make that trip in anything other than a car? And, Tom Jacobi, for you, with the Metro coming to Tysons Corner, how do you think that will affect business in general in McLean and your business in particular?

JACOBII think it'll actually help the retailers in McLean because it's so hard to get to Tysons Corner. I mean, like, right now, it's great because nobody would go to Tysons unless they absolutely have to. It will be interesting that once it's all done, to see what does happen. But I think -- one thing like I said before about McLean is it's a great community. We get a lot of support from the people of McLean. And I think small retailers are also what makes McLean unique, that there still retailers in business. I mean, we've lost a lot, and it's a struggle for a lot of them. But, you know, the ones that have survived, I think we've got a lot of good quality retailers.

JACOBISo I think people in McLean recognize that, and they try to support the local merchants. But in the same breath, it's still Tysons Corner and it's still a great area, and they got great shops, so it's gonna be interesting to see how it all plays out in the end.

NNAMDIJacque-Lynne Schulman, for a historical perspective here, how do you see this going forward within the context of what used to be?

SHULMANOne thing that makes a community is, of course, business and commerce and shopping. But there are other things that are the glue of a community, and those are the schools. And we have a number of, as Tom said -- an audience said, excellent public schools. We also have a number of very fine independent schools. We also have a number of very active churches and social groups and the building we're in now come here any day of the week, almost any time of day. And there'll be three or four different activities going on, classes, meetings, boy scouts, girl scouts and so on. And that's, I think, what makes the community.

SHULMANAnd when get our library back open, that'll make a big difference, again, as it has in the past. So I think that if you -- yes, there's -- there is something that Tysons has with its over 200 stores, et cetera, et cetera, but it doesn't anymore have a church. It used to have one in the parking lot. And it doesn't have girl scouts and boy scouts, and it doesn't have the other activities that I think are what truly makes a community.

NNAMDIWell, we do have a member of the audience here. Go right ahead, please, sir.

MR. JOHN HEBELERI'm John Hebeler. I came down from New Jersey to McLean in 1954. I came to teach at the Potomac School. And the transformation from what it was like at that time to now, it is truly remarkable. Tysons Corner, for example, was country crossroad West Virginia. And when I think of all the places that people mentioned here before, how they grew very gradually, so it wasn't a tremendous transformation, one that was certainly seen. And I spent, after here, for two years, I went and did my time in the Army. When I came back in 1958, I rented a little house on Evans Farm. (word?) Evans was very good about being a landlord.

MR. JOHN HEBELERBut that was demolished when Route 123 came through. So when you think of what McLean is going through in transformation now, it has, in many ways, kept the essence of a community, which is very important. I think Potomac School has been, as always, meant -- worked hard to be a good partner in the community being a member. And so I think McLean has -- will always have, it seems right now, a great deal going for it.

NNAMDIAny more comments? Anyone has a comment? We have one over here.

MS. SARAH KAMINSMy name is Sarah Kamins, and I'm a long resident of Herndon, Va. I've lived there my entire life. I live in Herndon. I'm a stage manager in Washington, D.C. and have -- needless to say, my day job is in Tysons Corner. And I commute a lot. And it is hard pressed to get people to come out to this area socially. And also, there are a lot of young theaters in Tysons and McLean and also Reston, Va., and it's hard pressed to get people to come out to see shows in this area. So I'm very excited about Metro coming up to this area finally, and also, furthering to Herndon to Dulles, so I can get my friends to come hang out here so I'm not driving to D.C. all the time.

MS. SARAH KAMINSAnd the commute is really rough. I have never actually taken the bus all the way into the city. And I would encourage more bus transit and things of that nature. But I'm excited both socially and professionally for the Metro to come out here and get some of the D.C. vibe coming to see professional theater and also see what Tysons Corner is all about.

NNAMDIWhat do you think are the biggest things that people who do not live in McLean don't understand about McLean? Please raise your hand if you happen to think that there are things that people who don't live in McLean just don't get about McLean. In the meantime, John Foust was on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

JACOBIWake up, John.

NNAMDIWhat are you hoping that with the coming of Metro to Tysons Corner, what are you hoping is the influence that it can have on a community like McLean?

MR. JOHN FOUSTWell, I want to -- in many ways, we want to minimize influence of Metro in Tysons developing. We want to preserve the wonderful community that we have here in McLean. But I do think it opens up a lot of opportunity for us. I mean, even as we speak, there's a public meeting going on talking about getting a pedestrian bicycle transit access to the Metro from... (applause)

NNAMDIYou can applaud.

FOUSTSo that's critical. I think, you know, the Metro right now, there's currently no plans for commuter parking at these stations, and that's one of the things that we're working on so that the residents of McLean and surrounding communities will be able to take advantage of the Metro once it's in service. So it's -- I think it's gonna be good, but I think, obviously, we've got to be cautious that while Tysons develops, we preserve the wonderful quality of life we have here.

NNAMDIDoes anyone have concerns about Metro coming to McLean? And if so, what would those concerns be? Allow me to ask this young lady sitting next to John Foust. What is your thinking on this?

MS. SUE BOUCHERI'm ready for the construction to be done. And I'm hoping it will be a good thing from going through years of the congestion and the traffic that we've been having to deal with.

NNAMDIDo you think the construction inconvenient in terms of the traffic tie-up that it causes?

BOUCHERAll the time, Kojo. I can be going home from work at 10:00 at night and one of the lanes are closed off, and there's a traffic jam on seven in the middle of the night. It's just -- it's never good.

NNAMDII noticed that your name is Sue Boucher. There used to be a Sue Boucher who worked with the WAMU 88.5. Would that be you?

BOUCHERYes, it is.

NNAMDISue Boucher, ladies and gentlemen. (applause)

MS. JANIE STRAUSSHi. I'm Janie Strauss, member of the school board representing this district. And I wanted to answer a couple of things. People have talked about how McLean is a community. It's a good place for families. And what we are finding is that many more families are moving inside the Beltway. It is a good commute to either downtown or to Tysons to other work environments. And we have many younger families buying some of the smaller brick homes and adding a second story. So we believe that as long as the community hangs on to its identity, we continue to provide important services to schools, to library, more walking paths and be able to bicycle around all of those good things, we should be able to hang on to our identity.

MS. JANIE STRAUSSWe are -- one of the things that is wonderful about this community is that we are very international, and most of the families really celebrate that. I want to make one comment about all of the great heavy equipment that's going on at Tysons. If you have little children, two, three and four-year-olds, they are so excited to see the cranes and all of this heavy engineering stuff because you can see it so quickly and upfront. So, you know, if you have lemons out there, make lemonade. It's a great learning experience for early childhood education.

NNAMDIIt's indeed a learning experience for a lot of adults too. We're coming to you from the McLean Community Center in McLean, Virginia. This is "Kojo In Your Community." I am Kojo Nnamdi.

NNAMDIDo you live in McLean or Vienna or Tysons Corner? Where do you turn to for community here? Please feel free to raise your hand. Yes, you sir. Bruce Wright.

MR. BRUCE WRIGHTHi. Yeah, I like to get around by bike. And right now, it's pretty hard to get up 123 on a bicycle. You got to take your life in your hands. But fortunately, Fairfax County has just completed a bicycle plan for the Tysons area, and they hope to expand it to the rest of the county. So I think there's hope for allowing people who want to use something other than getting in their car to get here. I rode here tonight from Reston, and I had to take a pretty circuitous route to avoid coming directly through Tysons.

NNAMDIDo you regularly take 123 on your bike, taking your life into your hands?

WRIGHTI rarely do that. On a Sunday morning I might. But otherwise, I go through Plymouth Hills and other, kind of, circuitous routes to get here.

NNAMDIWe have someone in the rear. Yes, sir. Go right ahead, please.

MR. TED ALEXANDERMy name is Ted Alexander, and we in McLean and in the surrounding communities are very much concerned about the implementation. We really like the plan that has been approved, but we wanna make certain that we have a role in the implementation. We know that the landowners have been meeting with the county staff in discussing several areas of a plan or a council among them to make recommendations up forward to the county, and we feel that we in the surrounding communities should have a voice in that. We will suffer the major impacts of traffic and other changes, and we wanna make sure that we should have a voting seat on that implementation plan.

NNAMDIThank you very much, sir. Jacque-Lynne Schulman, again, the benefit of historical context. How does one establish a sense of civic spirit in a jumbled environment like, say, Tysons Corner? What historical reference do we have for that?

SHULMANA gas station?

SHULMANThat's the photo that's always used of Tysons before Tysons. It's a gas station. One thing that makes McLean and/or Tysons different from, say, Falls Church or Silver Spring, we are not an incorporated entity. So there, you know, legally, there's no they're there except for the small district that is supported by the community center. And I think that may have -- I think it has to have a role in some sense of not having an identity. Years ago, we did not have an elected school board, and that was a big step forward I think in the sense of community because now we know we're electing Janie or whoever will be the Dranesville representative, similarly Mr. Foust from Dranesville.

SHULMANBut that's still not -- it's still not the pot belly stove in a country store and the people sitting around discussing whatever they sit around and discuss. And I think for Tysons, looking at the projections, they are looking at a much higher ratio of residential, and I think, without question, that gives you a way to have a sense of community. You're not gonna have a sense of 24-hour-day community in people who work eight hours and go home. I mean, that's just not gonna happen. But if you have mixed-use where people live and work in the same area, you have a chance of having that sense of community. I'm not sure I would wanna live and work in the same place, but that's my preference. I want to go off topic for just a quick minute.

SHULMANWhen my sons were younger, we live very close to the 23 bus, which runs along Old Dominion from where we are up to Tysons, and they were encouraged to take the bus. And my impression at the time was, if they wanted to go to Tysons to a movie or something, I would say, go take the bus. They were anomalous. Most of their classmates did not take busses into town or into Tysons or downtown or anywhere. It was just like, oh, you're taking a bus? And I think that if that -- that has to be reversed if we're gonna really talk about using mass transit. I mean, the idea that, in New York City, people don't own cars, can you imagine that here, not owning three cars for two people? It's un-American.

NNAMDIWell, that brings up an interesting point, Tom Jacobi with Metro construction at Tysons and the Metro coming to Tysons. Will McLean then become a suburb both of Washington and of Tysons? Will it have a, kind of, dual identity suburb?

JACOBIThat's a good question, yeah. Very good question. But I think that can also help, too, I mean, in McLean. I live and work and grew up in McLean, so I like McLean. I love McLean. I enjoy being here, and I think part of it is because we have all that stuff so close by. I mean, you know, if you wanna go to Tysons right now, yeah, that's a pain in the neck to get there, but it's still Tysons Corner. If you wanna go to D.C., you can go to D.C. If you want to get to Reagan Airport, you can get there. I mean, we're really fortunate, so we're kind of in our own little suburb, I guess, of all these big things. So I think it's gonna be really interesting once Tysons Corner is done in the Metro to see how it all plays out.

NNAMDIWell, are there others who have a concern that there is likely to be a loss of a sense of community in McLean once Metro comes to Tyson? But first we have a question or comment over here.

CAROLYNHi, my name is Carolyn. I have lived here since 1975. And we're huge walkers, and you ask, have we ever tried to get from Tysons to McLean any other way but car?

NNAMDIYes.

CAROLYNMy husband and I walked once, and we swore we would never do it again, that we arrived home alive, we called a miracle.

CAROLYNSo I think it would be nice to have sidewalks, especially...

NNAMDIApplause for sidewalks.

SHULMANYeah. The Metro station is only gonna be down the road a little bit. All these -- you wouldn't have to worry about a lot of parking. People could walk to the station.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMANAnd bike.

SHULMANAnd bike. And people are walkers and bikers here. They're out every day. Yeah.

NNAMDIWell, how do you expect the extension of Metro rail is likely to affect demographics in Tysons Corner and McLean over the long-term? Anybody can raise their hands and answer, but, sir, you first.

HEBELERWell, first of all, it's gonna increase the crowding. And what we're worried about here in McLean is the growth of the population forecast for Tysons is gonna spill over. They're gonna want to come here for schools. They're gonna want to come here for playgrounds. They're gonna want to come here just to get away from the high rises. And you asked what people not here need to understand about McLean. The fact that we're not incorporated -- we don't have a town council.

HEBELERWe don't have local politics. We don't have anybody to elect or unelect. And so we're very much creatures of the total Fairfax County. And they've got to look after our welfare vis-à-vis all of our services. So quite a unique community. And the only thing that makes it palatable is some place like this community center and the McLean Citizens Association and organizations like that to give us a sense of community.

NNAMDIDo you feel that that sense of community might be threatened by the influx of residents coming into Tysons Corner, who, as you point out, in order to get away from all that madness, decide to descend on McLean?

HEBELERI'm sure that's gonna happen, and it's our big concern about the infrastructure that's gonna be necessary to make it a livable community without -- and, you know, another thing people don't understand, Tysons Corner is part of McLean. It's not another entity and actually is in the boundaries of McLean. So it's our little brother, if you will.

NNAMDIThank you very much. We do have someone else here who has a comment. Go right ahead, please, ma'am.

MS. PEGGY MOOREI'm Peggy Moore. I'm a special events coordinator here at the community center. And I am also a resident of McLean. I live six minutes from here. It's a great commute. I don't think we're in much danger of losing our identity. I -- much of my job is basically in supporting and promoting community events and identity. We run McLean Day, the Fourth of July fireworks. We're gonna have a new event called McLean Uncorked on October 15, if you're looking for that. McLean Day, I can go to my homeowners association meeting. This did happen last year.

MS. PEGGY MOOREAnd the president of the homeowner association was talking about, well, the McLean trees and the MCA and the MCF, and they were naming all these different groups that you could contact for this, that or the other thing. And I thought, wow, every single one of those groups that this guy just mentioned have signed up for their booth at McLean Day, and they'll be there. And I was able to stand up and say, if you wanna talk to any of them, just show up that day and go through the booth. So I think that is a great day of, you know, community around here where we all get to know each other, and the community center really does have a lot to do with being the hub of the community. Thank you.

NNAMDIThank you so very much. This is "Kojo In Your Community," and we're coming to you from McLean, Va., a stone's throw away from both the White House and from Great Falls, a place advertised as the Niagara Falls of the south.

NNAMDII'm Kojo Nnamdi. Tom Jacobi, as you just heard, with all of these people moving into Tysons Corner, they're coming over to McLean for respite or recreation. That's good for your business, but some people say, it, you know, I'm concerned it may threaten the sense of community that we have here. What do you feel about that?

JACOBII'm not sure I believe that they're gonna come to McLean unless the transportation and all the other issues are taken care of 'cause they're not gonna be able to get there. But I don't think that the -- I don't think McLean will...

NNAMDIThat's your plan?

JACOBIYeah. (laugh) I think it's in place. The -- I don't think McLean is gonna lose its sense of community. I mean, like I said, 30 years ago, I think McLean had its sense of community. I think we could do better with our community as we always can, but I think people will come into McLean. There's always gonna be growth, you know, people coming in, but I don't think we'll lose our sense of community. I really don't.

NNAMDIIf you're in the audience, what's different about your community now from when you first moved here? And for you, the same question, Jacque-Lynn Shulman, about invoking a sense of community in the -- with the possibility of a lot of people coming from the new Tysons Corner or from the new Metro Tysons Corner.

SHULMANI -- to be honest, I'm not sure I really see that as happening...

NNAMDIWere you being dishonest before? (laugh)

SHULMANI plead the Fifth.

NNAMDIOkay. Thank you.

SHULMANIt -- certainly as it stands right now, I mentioned before the importance of churches and social organizations, and there are no churches in Tysons proper. There is certainly McLean Bible Church and the church across from it on seven, but those are kind of outside the boundaries of Tysons. But I think that what people might come here from Tysons for -- I'm not sure that's English, but anyway -- would be the community center here, but they'd be paying a surcharge because they're not part of the small tax district, but maybe that could be worked out.

SHULMANCharge them extra and put it in the amenities fund. The churches, the boy scouts, the cab scouts, the girl scouts, I don't know in the projections of the, kind of, new city or new town of Tysons what the age projections are. And that certainly would have an implication for schools if you're gonna have -- I mean, Westgate is not the biggest school in the world. So if you have 10,000 kids, they're not all gonna -- or even 1,000 kids, they're not all gonna be at Westgate, which is the school in (unintelligible).

SHULMANSo I just, kind of, don't see this is happening or maybe it'll be like the frog in the hot water. It'll happen so slowly. We'll be overwhelmed and not realized it's happening.

NNAMDIIs there anyone in the room who moved to McLean recently? Could you raise your hand and tell me why you moved to McLean, and whether or not Metro coming to Tysons Corner, in anyway, affects that? Or anyone who's been living in McLean for a while who also wants to talk about why you moved to McLean? Yes, sir. Ali Ajali. (sp?)

ALI AJALII moved to McLean because of their school. I have two daughters that -- both of them -- one of them goes to the Haycock, the other one to Longfellow. That was the main reason for me moving to McLean area, for the school.

NNAMDIFor the schools? And you have been satisfied, so far, with the schools?

AJALIYes, extremely.

NNAMDIDo you have any concern that the quality of school, the quality of education, in McLean is likely to be affected at all by the likelihood of a larger population at Tysons Corner with Metro?

AJALII think if we preserve the identity of McLean as we are doing right now, discussing it, it adds up and it helps to maintain the quality of the school too.

NNAMDIJacque-Lynne, how would you define the identity of McLean today? How would you describe to someone thinking of moving here, keeping in mind that Metro construction is coming to Tysons?

SHULMANWhen Metro construction has come and finished, it'll be a lot easier to get around again. But my recollection is very strongly that there's always gridlock at five o'clock and then has nothing -- had nothing to do with Metro construction. We just have an overloaded surface -- car system. What is McLean? McLean has some of the highest performing public and independent schools in Fairfax County, which has the highest rated schools in the country. It's the land of rectangular fields, which is shorthand for soccer fields. It's -- and we can never have enough of those apparently.

SHULMANIt's a place that is resource-rich in parks. We've just added the Salona Park area. There's the park along the river at Dead Run. There are a lot of places to go and do outdoor things, like hiking and walking, just don't do it along the unpaved shoulder of 123. And there's the Pimmit Run hiking trail. And we have a lot of green-oriented outdoor activities, and I don't think people realize that. And that would be something I would tell people if they were thinking about coming here or coming for the schools if you have children. Even if you don't have children, it definitely buoys our real estate market the fact that we do have excellent schools.

SHULMANAnd for people who are so inclined, we have wonderful outdoor activities. And Spring Hill Rec Center is not far away with an indoor pool. I mean, we have a lot here. So if we can just get past the yellow -- blue monster that's crawling over 123 this week, I think life will return to normal.

NNAMDIJacque-Lynn Shulman is the president of the McLean Historical Society and the Fairfax County Historical Society. She joins us to facilitate this conversation along with Tom Jacobi, president and owner of Langley Photo & Digital, a business located on Chain Bridge Road in McLean. How do you expect the extension of Metro Rail is likely to affect demographics in McLean and in Tysons Corner over the long term? If there's anybody who has ideas about that, just raise your hand. First, you, ma'am.

WOMANThat was on -- about the identity?

NNAMDIOh, about whatever you want.

WOMANOf McLean. The first time I thought McLean had an identity is when we celebrated our 100th birthday last fall. I picked up this book I have in my bookshelf at home, which has my village on it in Germany, home village, and it just celebrated its 850th anniversary.

WOMANHowever, when I found out, as I was at this celebration, that those five or six streets in this little development behind my house where I usually go to walk, they were not just picked out of a hat but those were people who were -- the poker brothers of the guy who owned the land. And he named all the streets after his poker buddies. And there they are, now they are real people. They are real streets. This is an identity.

NNAMDIWell, it certainly is a form of identity. But given the age of the city from which you came in Germany, it's a very young identity as far as you're concerned, isn't it?

WOMANYes, it is. But still, 100 years is 100 years, you know?

NNAMDIAnd 800 years is 800 years too. Yes, Steve?

STEVEYes. A couple of things. We're talking about consistency in McLean. The one thing I think that's really been consistent about McLean is the McLean Hardware Store. I mean, that has -- that's got everything you ever wanted. Secondly, the thing -- and I've lived here for 35 years -- that's striking me now is the renewal of housing in McLean because a lot of the old houses are being knocked down, new houses are being developed, and I think that's a good thing. I think it's -- I'm fascinated by the number of young children coming out of my neighborhood, going to church or going to school.

NNAMDIAnd I have got to tell you, as many communities as we have been in "Kojo In Your Community," we have never before essentially heard somebody say I moved there for the hardware store, which is apparently one of the things that Steve finds so attractive about McLean. Allow me to go down here and talk to this young lady once again. It is your turn. Go ahead, please.

WOMANI think one of the important things for the future -- one of things I've seen now from when I lived in McLean is like he said. All the new building of houses and where there were a lot of houses that had land and big backyards, now it's house on top of house. And I think that may be problematic. But I think the biggest issue is land use and building. And back when I first came to McLean, there were a lot of advocates to -- concerned about land use and concerned about height and density here in McLean. And I think perhaps others can speak to it that might have protected us and, hopefully, still will.

WOMANWhile up in Tysons now, I think that the ideas for a new urban Tysons perhaps are very good, taking into account especially housing and affordable housing, and if the plans go forward, I think that that's a good thing. And I think we should look to other communities near Metro. Like, for example, Clarendon, which -- the Clarendon-Courthouse area -- is urban and yet its perimeters are still those little neighborhoods, which -- beautiful little neighborhoods that people can walk in and particularly, I think, Falls Church, which has two Metro stations flanking it, and they have had policies to try to keep the density down and do what they wanted to do.

WOMANAnd I think that that's the context in which McLean needs to hopefully work and Fairfax County needs to hopefully work. And the only other thing that I want to say is that I think you were asking about barriers that we need to get over is the attitude that everybody who lives in McLean is rich beyond thinking, and also that everybody who lives in McLean drives a car. And I don't think that that's true. And I think we need to face it now. And besides, if we don't face putting in transit that will connect our neighborhoods and Tysons, there's going to be more congestion in Tysons and (word?).

NNAMDIThank you very much. We do have another comment over here. Yes, sir.

MR. FRAN MAHONEYMy name is Fran Mahoney. I've actually been in Reston for the last six years. And I came from -- I was raised outside the burbs of Philadelphia, which is a much smaller and tighter, sort of, identity. So I've been very fascinated to see the differences in ability to form a identity of community when you come from a old city versus a relatively new one. And I'm very curious to see the addition of Metro, sort of, (word?) the various towns will add to the civic connectivity between various chunks there.

NNAMDIThank you very much. We do have someone else here.

MR. FARID WASSEF MYERYes. My name is Farid Wassef Myer. (sp?) And I do not live in McLean nor live in Virginia. I live in Montgomery County. And I do not want to start a war. (laugh) As a matter of fact, I love McLean. You call it as -- identified as Tysons Corner. (laugh) Basically, most of the time, I come to Tysons Corner. I mean, I went to school, to American university and -- back in 1970s and I bought a car for $500. The only way I knew, just take down Chambers Road and go to Tysons Corner.

MR. FARID WASSEF MYERSo I'm glad that Metro is coming actually so it makes it easier for me or for everybody from Montgomery County to take Metro to Tysons Corner. But then I live in Montgomery County, and I work, actually, in Tysons area, so I love this area. Thank you very much.

NNAMDIAnd you still have that car, don't you?

MYERNo. (laugh)

NNAMDIOh, I was about to say, that's how great McLean is. He still has that car he bought for $500. We have time for one more comment in the rear. Go ahead, please.

ALEXANDERYes. Again, if -- Ted Alexander again. One of the things I want to mention as we go forward is a concern for how we're gonna fund the -- how we're gonna fund this whole infrastructure for the growth of Tysons. And we are all for it, but we just wanna make sure that it is a fair formula that is used, and that when they did Route 28, it was done 75 percent by the landowners and 25 percent by the public county funding. We feel that's a good precedent, but the county staff has come forward proposing 58 percent be paid by the taxpayers and only 42 by the landowners. And we feel that this is very unfair on the backs of the taxpayers. But the biggest portion of that cost should be paid by those who benefit the most, the landowners.

NNAMDIThank you so much, Jacque-Lynne Schulman. Thank you so much for joining us. Tom Jacobi, thank you so much for joining us. You have been listening to "Kojo In Your Community," coming to you from the McLean Community Center in McLean, Va. Thank you all for listening. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.