40 years ago the Plaza Seven Shop­ping Center became Eden Center. The Eden Center has been voted “best shop­ping center” by Wash­ing­ton city paper 2 years in a row. The Center is filled with Viet­namese shops and restau­rants that have all been there for years, and make the center what it is today. 

Falls Church is plan­ning a Small Area Plan. The plan will take place in the East End which has many busi­nesses such as the Eden Center, Koons Ford, BJs Whole­sale Club, 24-hour fitness, and many other smaller busi­nesses. The plan has a focus on the poten­tial rede­vel­op­ment of the land use, zoning, and any other infra­struc­ture improve­ments. This means that there’s a possi­bil­ity the plan may not occur at all. Since the plan includes rede­vel­op­ing the zoning in the east end, if the city does rede­velop the zoning in Eden Center specif­i­cally then the owner of the prop­erty will be able to refrain from any redevelopment. 

Predom­i­nantly Viet­namese owned busi­nesses in the Eden center would be the ones largely affected by the rede­vel­op­ment if it were to take place. Hoinam Nguyen from the Viet Place Collec­tive explained the fears they have with the SAP plan, “devel­op­ment in this area could lead to busi­ness closures and displace­ment, which could lead to loss of a very impor­tant Viet­namese de-facto cultural center for the community.” 

The Eden center means so much to members of the Viet­namese commu­nity. Senior Richard Do explains the impor­tance of the center to him. “I’ve grown up going to the Eden Center all of my life with my family to purchase foods and even started work­ing there at a boba shop called TeaDM! The Eden Center has an atmos­phere that makes me feel like I’m at home.” The Center means so much to customers and the busi­ness owners. 

Even though its possi­ble the plan may never occur, the VPC had strongly advo­cated that an anti-displace­ment program be included into the Small Area Plan. Nguyen had stated that “we are pleased that anti-displace­ment program­ming to protect Viet­namese small busi­nesses is now a core goal of the Small Area Plan.” The VPC had accom­plished many parts of their goals. Now if the plan does take place then the busi­nesses in the Eden Center are protected. Ngueyn stated, “we applaud the City’s proposal to create a ‘Little Saigon East’ Cultural District that would not only cele­brate the commu­nity, but also support the contin­ued growth of the #1 desti­na­tion in the City.”