Alexandria City Council selects new WMATA station location

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Virginia's Alexandria City Council voted unanimously to endorse the construction of a new Potomac Yard Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority (WMATA) Station and select "Alternative B" as the preferred location. This endorsement now permits the development of a Final Environmental Impact Statement for expected release this winter.

 

Under Alternative B, the new station would be located at-grade, east of the existing Potomac Yard Retail Center. Estimated to cost $268 million, the station would be built on WMATA’s Yellow and Blue Lines, between the existing Braddock Road and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport stations and is expected to generate billions of dollars in new private sector investment. The resulting mixed use, smart growth development in the Potomac Yard area near the station will support up to 26,000 new jobs within one-quarter mile of the station and 13,000 new residents within one-half mile of the station, while removing thousands of private vehicles from the congested Route 1 corridor.

Since April, Alternative B has been recommended unanimously by the city’s Board of Architectural Review, Environmental Policy Commission, Park and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Potomac Yard Metrorail Implementation Work Group and Transportation Commission. The location was also recommended in an April 24 report by city staff. These recommendations incorporated public feedback received from hundreds of residents and businesses through meetings of community groups, three formal open houses, a public hearing held by WAMTA on April 30 and a public hearing held by city council on May 16.

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

A new station is anticipated to be funded through a variety of sources, including new tax revenue primarily from development around the station, regional transportation authority grants, developer contributions and special tax district revenue, as well as a number of non-city sources.

 

 

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