There are so many ideas on how to revitalize Old Town Alexandria's waterfront — so many that city planners aren't even sure where to begin. Some of the projects for the waterfront include creating new public spaces, improving existing parks, mitigating floods in the area, and more. Planning will be phased in over 10 years and funded by numerous sources (i.e., taxes, private donations, fundraising, grants, etc.) with the first phase costing roughly $120 million. As reported by Washington Business Journal, "The plan, while key to Alexandria's economy and quality of life, must still compete with other capital needs." With this, planners are trying to figure out how to prioritize the different needs in this project.
The design for the first phase is divided into three subareas: core and core-secondary (Duke to Queen streets) and non-core (Harborside/Shipyard, Founders. Oronoco, Rivergate and Tidelock parks). The project will address:
· $33 million for flood mitigation and the construction of a new promenade between Duke and Queen streets
· $14 million for construction of Fitzgerald Square at King Street
· $17.9 million for upgrades to Oronoco Bay Park
· $6.2 million for the King Street pier
· $5.6 million for stabilization and new arts programming for the Torpedo Factory Art Center
· $4.8 million for Waterfront Park
· $3.8 million for street-end gardens
There's no way for every aspect of the project to occur at the same time, so there have been discussions on how to phase the project. To figure out which project to start on the to-do list, 70 residents were polled and found the public's highest priority to be park enhancement. For city planners, though, they hope to begin with flood mitigation and the promenade, the Fitzgerald Square, and then parks. In the end, the city council will have the final say.
· Parks, floods, connections: Prioritizing the $120M Old Town Alexandria waterfront plan [Washington Business Journal]