Alexandria officials are hoping to capitalize on developer interest in Potomac Yard and the Eisenhower Valley to help fund two new Metrorail stations in those areas.
“We are facing the prospect of future redevelopment activity coming specifically in Potomac Yard over the next few months, and it is important that the council send a message, not just to the city staff, but also to the development community, that any plans [the city receives for] that property include how they [fund] a Potomac Yard Metro,” Councilman Justin Wilson told the council last month.
City Council members have instructed staff to add language to Alexandria’s draft master transportation plan that would bar the city from approving development in Potomac Yard and in the Eisenhower Valley unless the development clearly contributes to the funding and building of a Metro station.
The master transportation plan — a document that details Alexandria’s public transit plans for the upcoming six years — has been five years in the making and is expected to be adopted by the city this spring.
“Essentially, with the Eisenhower Valley and the stretch of Potomac Yard, you have two of the longest stretches of Metro tracks that don’t have stations on them,” Councilman Rob Krupicka told The Examiner. “I think for Alexandria to be viable in the long term — for our transportation to be viable over the long term — we need Metro stations there.”
Several city officials acknowledged that including the Metro stations in the city’s transportation plan was just the first step toward realizing the goal.
“I don’t want anyone to get the false impression that by putting it in the plan, that somehow it will make it happen,” Councilman Timothy Lovain said. “There is the small problem of needing $100 million for each station, and right now, the city has some of the least-used Metro stations in the entire Metro system.”
