In 2024, Alexandria, Virginia, continues its evolution as a thriving city, thanks to a strategic, decades-long focus on attracting transformative development projects. The result? Major anchor tenants sparking growth across the city, creating new neighborhoods, investments, and attractions beyond our charming Main Streets in Old Town and Del Ray to position Alexandria as an innovative and forward-looking live, work, and play destination.
What’s remarkable is that the momentum in Alexandria is driven by catalysts that retain their power even post-pandemic. Although the City’s bid to be the future home of the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards as well as a world-class entertainment district ultimately fell short, it successfully landed a major hospital expansion and cancer center as well as the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, a graduate campus dedicated to computer science and engineering.
As entertainment, education, and health care continue to drive in-person demand for space and amenities, the momentum in Alexandria will grow – with additional opportunities for future catalysts still available.
Carlyle and Eisenhower East: A Tale of Two Eras
Carlyle and Eisenhower East is a tale of two generations of development. Pre-pandemic, office space was the region’s most attractive opportunity, and Alexandria landed its first catalyst project, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to kickstart commercial development in this neighborhood. Known as the “economic engine of Alexandria,” the area added another catalyst in the National Science Foundation, which opened in Eisenhower East in 2017.
Post-pandemic, the neighborhood’s momentum has continued. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) opened a new Metro Integrated Command and Communications Center in 2023. There’s a new Wegman’s in Stonebridge’s Carlyle Crossing, a multi-use project with more than 740 residential units in addition to destination restaurants such as Ted’s Bulletin, Sidekick Bakery, and Atlas Brew Works, which are coming soon. An additional 100,000 square feet of first and second floor retail is also available. Today, over 16 additional acres of Hoffman family-owned parking lots adjacent to the Eisenhower Metro station and a Class A trophy office building called Carlyle Tower (pictured) offer the opportunity for flexible mixed-use residential and commercial development. The neighborhood is well-connected with a VRE and Amtrak station, direct Beltway access, bike lanes and Capital Bikeshare docks, multiple bus routes, and two Metro stations. Eisenhower Avenue and King Street Metro stations serve the area on the Blue and Yellow lines of the WMATA Metrorail system. With access to a highly educated workforce and commuter-friendly appeal, Carlyle and Eisenhower East offer the opportunity to shape dynamic, mixed-use neighborhoods.
Potomac River Generating Station: Revitalizing Waterfront Alexandria
The Potomac River Generating Station is getting a second chance at life, reenergizing a former coal plant into the ultimate waterfront destination. The power station operated for 60 years until it was decommissioned in 2012. Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) purchased the plant in 2020 with plans to return the dormant 18 acres and its shoreline to the community. In 2022, the City Council approved HRP’s plans to transform 2.1 million square feet into a commercial, residential, retail, arts, and entertainment attraction. Situated north of Old Town and just three minutes from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the site’s high visibility from all angles – including its prime position along the airport’s flight path – creates a unique opportunity for building signage and visibility. The bikeable and walkable Mount Vernon Trail runs along the property, and plans call for a commitment to the highest levels of sustainability and greenspace throughout. It’s the last swath of developable waterfront land in Northern Virginia and offers stunning views of the United States Capitol and Washington Monument.
North Potomac Yard Innovation and Entertainment District
Just south of where Amazon HQ2 sits, mere minutes from Washington, DC and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, is North Potomac Yard. Developed initially as a big-box retail center with Target as its primary anchor, it is now an emerging innovation district with the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus well under construction and set to open in 2025. Once home to a busy rail yard, the former superfund site saw an early 2000s construction boom with townhomes and condominiums from Pulte Homes, among other multifamily developers. As the city shifted its focus to diversifying its tax base, it began to pursue office development and the potential of opening a new infill Metro station along the existing tracks. In June 2017, the City’s North Potomac Yard Small Area Plan was updated to reflect that broader vision for turning the 70- acre site into a mixed-use, sustainable, entertainment-focused regional destination. With the promise of that level of development, several large commercial tenants decided to establish their footing in the area. Build-to-suit projects for the National Industries for the 2024 NAIOP Northern Virginia Bus Tour Blind, the Institute for Defense Analyses, and the American Physical Therapy Association opened in 2018, 2022, and 2021, respectively.
But the catalyst project came when Alexandria landed a major coup as part of Amazon’s second headquarters search. As part of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s successful bid to win HQ2, it agreed to bring a graduate-level Virginia Tech computer science and engineering program focused on workforce development and corporate collaboration to Alexandria. The Virginia Tech Innovation Campus will graduate about 600 students a year at full capacity and aims to be the most diverse graduate education campus in the country.
The May 2023 opening of the Potomac Yard-VT Metro station accelerated the City’s vision, creating another connection point for Alexandria and the broader region. With Target inking a new lease to stay in place across from the Metro for another 20 years, challenges remain to a full redevelopment of Potomac Yard, but the city remains steadfast in its pursuit of opportunities to finally reimagine the neighborhood as a vibrant live, work, play, and transit-oriented neighborhood.
WestEnd Alexandria
Construction on the former Landmark Mall site is underway, revitalizing a landlocked area in Alexandria’s West End neighborhood to become an innovative mixed-use community and state-of-the-art medical campus.
For decades, the mall had changed ownership before it finally closed in 2017. Momentum for the redevelopment didn’t start to take shape until Foulger Pratt became the principal landowner of the site in 2019. In December 2020, Foulger Pratt, along with investment partners Howard Hughes Corporation and Seritage Growth Properties, reached an agreement with the City of Alexandria and Inova Health System to build a new state-of-the-art medical campus on the site.
In 2021, the Industrial Development Authority of the City of Alexandria purchased 11 acres of the full site’s 52 acres and leased it back to Inova for $1 a year for a 95-year ground lease. This catalyst investment kickstarted the transformation of the rest of the site.
In addition to Inova Health System relocating its existing hospital from Seminary Road to a new, 194-bed facility with a cancer research center and specialty care center, Foulger Pratt will blend in four million square feet of multifamily residential, retail, commercial, and entertainment offerings to harmonize with the surrounding neighborhood. The development, dubbed WestEnd Alexandria, could start delivering as early as 2025, with construction already underway and the hospital set for completion in 2028. Plans also include a network of outdoor spaces, playground, new fire station, transit hub, and 2,500 affordable housing units in Alexandria’s largest and fastest growing neighborhood.
Photo courtesy of Hilco Redevelopment Partners.
This article was originally published in the NAIOP 2024 Northern Virginia Bus Tour Guidebook.