Alexandria Picks Site for Potomac Yard Metro

• May 21st 2015

by Lark Turner

The Alexandria City Council has picked a spot for the new Potomac Yard Metro station on the Yellow and Blue lines between the Braddock Road and National Airport stations.

The new site “places the station in the best location to serve the largest number of potential Metrorail riders,” according to a council resolution. It will sit at ground level east of the Potomac Yard Retail Center between the existing CSX railroad tracks and the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The council is hoping to create Alexandria’s NoMa with the new station and resulting development.

“Today’s decision to select Alternative B is a very significant step forward not just for the construction of the station itself, but for Alexandria as a whole,” Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille said in a news release. “This project is critical to our future economic development, transportation needs and quality of life.”

The location selected, Alternative B, was the site preferred by many agencies and groups working close to the project, including the city’s Board of Architectural Review, Environmental Policy Commission, Park and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Potomac Yard Metrorail Implementation Work Group (PYMIG), and Transportation Commission. At $268 million, it was more expensive than Alternative A, at $209 million, but less expensive than Alternative D, which would have located the station close to the Potomac Yard Shopping Center and cost a whopping $492 million.

The city plans to finance the construction of the station with revenues from station development, grants, developer contributors and the creation of a tax district in the area that will be served by the station.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/alexandria_picks_site_for_potomac_yard_metro/9915.