2.5 Million Square Feet: One Of The Biggest Projects In The DC Area Advances

• April 29th

by UrbanTurf Staff

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Alexandria's long-anticipated transformation of its northern waterfront is moving closer to reality, as the developer behind one of the largest mixed-use projects in the DC region advances plans for the first phase of construction.

HRP Group will bring its proposals for the first three building blocks and two open space corridors before the Alexandria Planning Commission on June 2. The plans envision up to 2.5 million square feet of mixed-use development along the Potomac at the former Potomac River Generating Station, a decommissioned power plant that has sat largely dormant on the Old Town North waterfront for decades. 

Designed by Gensler (Block B) and Handel Architects (Block C), two of the residential building blocks would deliver 815 new units across four towers — two rental and two condo — with roughly 85,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. It is not yet clear how many of those units would be set aside as affordable housing, a question likely to feature prominently at the June hearing. The third component, Block A, is envisioned as a 70-foot-tall arts and cultural center with retail and office uses overlooking the Potomac, anchoring the development's creative programming with 15,000 square feet of subsidized arts space at below-market rents.

The public space components could have the most immediate impact on the surrounding neighborhood. The open space plan along the watrfront would add approximately three acres of publicly accessible parkland along the Potomac, including a Great Lawn, a public overlook on the historic pumphouse roof, a non-motorized watercraft launch, and new connections to the Mount Vernon Trail. A companion Rail Corridor Open Space plan would add 1.6 acres of active green space — with recreation fields, a multi-use sport court, two children's play areas, a dog park, and a public art gateway at N. Fairfax Street.

If approved, the project would represent one of the most significant waterfront developments in the DC area in years. A timeline for groundbreaking has not been announced.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/25_million_square_feet_one_of_the_biggest_projects_in_the_dc_area_advances/24573.