Retail brokers will discuss the obstacles to filling the many empty stores in the new Carlyle development with the Alexandria City Council and planning commission on Tuesday.
Carlyle, a 70-plus acre development anchored by the new U.S. Patent and Trade office, was envisioned in the 1990s as an extension of Old Town: a vibrant, office, retail and residential neighborhood. The former rail yard is adjacent to the Eisenhower Avenue Metro station and the federal courthouse.
But to date, 82 percent of its 260,000 square feet of retail space remains empty.
“The first wave of retail coming in is quick, casual restaurants,” Alexandria Economic Development Partnership Acting Director Stephanie Landrum said. “They’re not necessarily being welcomed with open arms.”
The planning commission at its March meeting grudgingly approved applications for Potbelly Sandwich Works and Bruegger’s Bagels. The commission is concerned that all the restaurant space will go to casual eateries, acting planning and zoning director Rich Josephson said.
He said there isn’t need for concern now. Plans call for 30,000 square feet of total retail space to go to quick-service restaurants.
The kind of sit-down restaurants the planning commission wants won’t come until more residents fill the condos and apartments under construction, Landrum said. She called the quick-service restaurants “trailblazers” into new commercial areas.
Meanwhile, Carlyle tenants and retail brokers have concerns, Josephson and Landrum said. The Carlyle shop fronts aren’t visible to traffic passing by on Duke Street, there’s a lack of visible parking and worries about the retail mix. Possible solutions like signs, street art and landscaping will be considered, Landrum said.
Construction this summer on the central Carlyle Square will be another topic, Josephson said.
“Our feeling is, once the square is improved, with seating, landscaping, parking and entertainment, it will help provide some of the vitality for the area,” Josephson said.
Tuesday’s information session is at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council workroom.
