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NEWS RELEASE
Alexandria officials OK massive redevelopment
Published in the Washington Business Journal
April 28, 2003
John Wilen
Staff reporter
The Alexandria City Council has approved a redevelopment plan
for 230 acres at the east end of Eisenhower Avenue that calls for
the development of 17.3 million square feet of office, residential,
retail and hotel space over the next 20 years.
The grand plan for the area, which encompasses the under-construction
headquarters of the Patent and Trademark Office, is intended to
transform it from a wasteland of industrial buildings, office towers
and parking lots into a vibrant urban core centered around a Metro
station and characterized by leafy boulevards, bustling streets
and smart architecture.
Like many infill redevelopment plans, however, the "Eisenhower
East Small Area Plan" has been controversial. On one hand, property
owners don't think it allows office tenants enough parking.
"Over time, there may ... have to be some adjustments to the plan,"
says Donald Simpson, chairman of Simpson Development (www.simpsondev.com),
which owns three office buildings in the area.
But on the other, community activists, worried about the impact
on surrounding neighborhoods, think the plan allows too much parking.
"Traffic is going to be a real issue in that area," says Ginny
Parry, president of Alexandrians for Sensible Growth (www.alex4sensiblegrowth.org).
Parking puzzlement
The Eisenhower East area was a railroad yard for 140 years. More
recent users include a concrete plant, a rental car lot and Simpson's
assets, which are surrounded by large suburban-style parking lots.
Developers have moved into the area in recent years, most notably
the PTO's 2.5 million-square-foot complex, several office and residential
buildings developed by Carlyle Properties, an AMC Theatres complex,
and a new federal courthouse.
The plan calls for a mix of office, retail and residential, a
new street grid and open spaces, and architectural guidelines down
to preferred building heights and materials.
The Eisenhower East plan also faces the challenging transition
from planner ideal to market reality.
Simpson doesn't think developers will build offices in the area
if parking restrictions -- which limit office tenants to two spaces
per 1,000 square feet, down from 2.7 spaces -- aren't eased.
"We'd rather have the buildings that we have, leased up with ample
parking than brand new buildings only half leased up," Simpson says.
Simpson controls 115,000 square feet, most of that office space.
Simpson's 22,000-square-foot structure at 2320 Mill Road would be
demolished and replaced by an 80,000-square-foot building in three
years, market conditions permitting. Simpson's other two buildings
would remain for another 10 to 15 years.
Suburban-to-urban
Kimberly Fogle, division chief of Alexandria's neighborhood planning
and community development office (www.ci.alexandria.va.us), says
the plan's goal is to do away with car-centric design. She says
Alexandria isn't looking to compete with outer suburbs that can
provide lots of parking. The city wants to attract a different type
of office user.
"There has to be a shift in our way of thinking," Fogle says.
"We just can't handle that amount of cars at full buildout."
Fogle says the key to implementing the plan will be the city's
commitment to it. That could come in the form of a point person
dedicated to working with property owners and developers, and may
include tools such as a special tax district to fund infrastructure
improvements. Now that the city has approved the plan, she says,
it is beginning to look at what needs to be done to implement it.
Paula Riley, executive director of the Alexandria Economic Development
Partnership (www.alexecon.org), says the plan will make attracting
companies to Alexandria easier. "It is a contributing factor for
us to say, 'This is the plan,'" Riley says.
And Bill Hudnut, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute
(www.uli.org), thinks the experience of other areas that have attempted
suburban-to-urban transformations favor's Fogle's point of view.
"The keys to a successful city redevelopment," Hudnut says, "are
density and diversity."
© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.
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