This essay is part of a series in which we’ve asked Alexandrians to envision our region in 2050.
Learn more about the series and read more essays on the Alexandria 2050 project page here.
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The work our team at the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP) performs is focused on the long game, so we are constantly thinking about how decisions and actions today will impact the Alexandria of the future. AEDP’s vision for the City is that Alexandria should be a vibrant, creative, diverse city where large and small businesses — entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and cutting-edge institutions of science and learning — can locate and grow.
In recent years we have made great strides in stimulating our local economy through the pursuit of anchor tenants that catalyze growth throughout Alexandria. While 2020 was a challenging and difficult year on many fronts, it was also a very successful year when measured by announcements of major development projects that will positively impact our city for decades.
Erin J. Rexroth
Stephanie Landrum, AEDP
By 2050, our community’s vision for two submarkets in Alexandria should be completely realized. First, in the Potomac Yard section of National Landing, Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus will be celebrating the graduation of thousands of students and will be recognized for its leading role in the creation of the nation’s largest and strongest tech talent pipeline. These students will be working at large and small companies throughout the City and region, from Amazon to Zillow. With both phases of North Potomac Yard built out, Alexandria’s Innovation District will be an internationally recognized hub that will provide world-class talent, research, products, and more.
In the second submarket, Alexandria’s West End, we will be celebrating the successful transformation that the redevelopment of the Landmark site jumpstarted. INOVA’s relocated and expanded Alexandria Hospital will consistently be ranked as a top hospital in our region, providing the highest level of care to our residents, and the surrounding mixed-use development will have enabled even more Alexandrians to live near their place of employment. The ripple effect of the Landmark redevelopment will be visible throughout the West End, with several new investments and projects surrounding the hospital-anchored site also completed.
In 2050, AEDP’s “State of the City” annual meeting will highlight Landmark and Potomac Yard as vibrant and diverse gateways to the City of Alexandria and celebrate the contributions these two projects have made to the City’s overall economic health.
There are other bold moves that will impact what Alexandria will look like in 2050 and they can be realized with AEDP’s encouragement that we learn from missed opportunities in our past. Following previous “big wins,” the City has taken a more passive approach, expecting additional investment to follow.
We have learned, though, that taking an active role in recruiting the type of developers and companies to the City who share our community vision is well worth the effort. Our next big opportunity is the redevelopment of the former GenOn Power Plant in Old Town North, and Hilco Redevelopment Partners, the new owner and a company with experience in rehabilitating old industrial sites, is the type of partner essential to crafting that shared redevelopment vision. This location has the most potential of any in Alexandria to be a catalyst for change, and while redevelopment will take focus and a lot of work, the return can be enormous. Our vision for the celebration of 2050, and Alexandria’s tricentennial — just one year prior — is to make a modern and monumental return to our roots as a thriving port city, a central and integral part of the DC region.
Imagine a vibrant, mixed-use development, filled with new housing, commerce, recreation and more, all located on Alexandria’s revitalized waterfront instead of an old, defunct power plant. This kind of bold change makes us incredibly excited to continue our work for the future of Alexandria!
Stephanie Landrum is president and CEO of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, which helps businesses large and small grow and develop. AEDP was a key player in attracting Amazon and Virginia Tech to the area.
