Rendering of possible future plaza at Potomac Yard.

Last night, Alexandria’s Potomac Yard Planning Advisory Group discussed the proposed infill Metrorail station at Potomac Yard. The station would anchor a large area of mixed-use development mostly between Jefferson Davis Highway and the GW Parkway. This land used to be filled with railyards, and is now mostly empty space with some big-box retail. The group is only starting their plans, but their discussions illuminated the major issues that will shape future development at Potomac Yard Center.

Last night, the group focused on four main topics:

  • Where do we put the Metrorail station?
  • How do automobiles fit into our plans?
  • How do we distribute the building height throughout the development?
  • What do we do about “Landbay L?”

Where do we put the Metrorail station? There’s already a “reservation” for an infill station near Potomac Greens, along the existing Metro line. This would probably be the least expensive option to build. However it would place the station near less-dense areas of development.

The feasibility group suggested building a station at the center of the development. This would increase the amount of high density development that could be built within a quarter- to half-mile of the station (the most walkable areas). Unfortunately, this hasn’t been studied much, and while this would be a great idea, it’s probably prohibitively expensive. It would require moving the existing tracks and putting them underground. The planners don’t expect the federal government to pay for much of this cost (up to $150 million for just a station), so the City of Alexandria will probably end up paying for almost the entire cost of a new station.

How do automobiles fit into our plans? The group considered the “Vision Statement and Plan Principles” (PDF) that will guide their future efforts. One principle says, “Pursue a comprehensive multi-modal approach to transportation based on a highly walkable urban environment, minimal automobile use, and a new Metro Station.”

Group member Darryl Dugan objected to the phrase “minimal automobile use”. He suggested replacing the word “minimal” with “accommodate”, which would shift the project’s stance toward encouraging cars. Car-centric members worried that a future “czar” would ban all cars from the development, or decree that townhouses should be built without garages (the horror!). Chair Eric Wagner and Doug Sarno, the facilitator, both came to the defense of transit-oriented development. They allayed everyone’s fears, saying townhouses would always come with garages. They noted these principles are “more aspirational” and reiterated that Alexandria wants to encourage pedestrian and cyclist-friendly development like that in Arlington’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.

Group member Bill Hendrickson, from Del Ray, said building more parking will only encourage more car trips (and hence more traffic on his neighborhood streets). Peter Pocock, who had helped write the principles, said this plan will last for decades, and we should focus our “plan around people,” who in the future won’t want to use cars for getting around. The plan for this development should “organically provide transportation alternatives,” he said.

In the interest of moving on, Wagner suggested the group change the principle to read, “minimal automobile impact.” This allowed the statement of principle to be vague enough to make everyone happy.

How do we distribute the building height throughout the development? Jonnie Fu (representing architects Cooper Robertson) and Jeff Farner (from the Planning and Zoning Commission) discussed guiding principles for the project’s building heights. They advocated for putting taller buildings with appropriate set-backs on wider roads, similar to the broad avenues of DC and Paris, France, and on the edge of parks, such as Central Park in NYC. These locations allow more light to reach the pedestrian level, and create nice views for the tenants of tall buildings.

They recommended a “big tent” shape for Potomac Yard that would put the tallest buildings in the center of the development. Unfortunately, this leaves shorter, less-dense development near parks like the GW Parkway and along wide roads like Jefferson Davis Highway.

What do we do about “Landbay L?” Landbay L is currently a large empty field adjacent to Monroe Avenue on the west side of the railroad tracks. It will be difficult to develop because it’s cut off from Jefferson Davis Highway, and because there’s a power sub-station nearby.

During an earlier citizen workshop, Alexandria residents suggested (without any prompting) keeping this land mostly undeveloped as park land and recreational sports fields. They suggested swapping the density with an existing large baseball field nearby (near the ‘K’ on the map above). That field is adjacent to the Braddock Road Metrorail station, where higher density would make sense. George Washington Middle School currently uses that field, and its current property borders Landbay L.

While the group member from the Rosemont area said his neighbors would probably object to dense development, the group agreed to consider the land swap without actually including it in their plans for the Potomac Yard development.