Photo by Susannah Moore
The Torpedo Art Factory.
There is no question that the Torpedo Factory Art Center is an Alexandria landmark. From its early days as a munitions factory during WWI and WWII, to its transformation into an art center in the 1970s, the building is a prominent fixture along the Alexandria waterfront and draws approximately 500,000 visitors in most years.
Changes may be coming to the historic building. After years of studies and reports on how the City can make the 76,000 square feet more accessible to the broader community, the City has released an Action Plan for Vibrancy & Sustainability at Torpedo Factory Art Center.
There are multiple ideas in the action plan, but no timeline for implementation, nor is it definite the plan will definitely come to fruition.
One of the visions in the plan includes increasing programming, education, events and interactive opportunities at the art factory to draw in a larger audience, including families with young children and seniors.
Another element of the plan calls for expanding the types of art featured to include culinary, music, technology and performance arts in an effort to bring more vitality and diversity to the center.
According to the City's plan, the first level of the building could be redesigned to become the focal point of the new center with an expanded Target Gallery and potentially an Art League Store. The waterfront entrance of the building will become the primary entrance for the center in an effort to incorporate the building into the larger vision for the Alexandria waterfront.
The third floor will also be redesigned to host the increase in programs and to have the potential to create rental income.
A café and rooftop restaurant are listed as possible additions to the center, but they will not be the focal point of the revitalized Torpedo Factory Art Center. (Earlier reports by other news outlets that a "food hall" or "food court" were coming to the Torpedo Factory Art Center were incorrect.)
New contemporary policies and procedures that align with the new vision will be implemented as well as a long-term plan for the sustainability of the Torpedo Art Factory.
More ideas could be coming forward, as well. In a Facebook post, Councilmember John T. Chapman wrote that he was working on another idea based on his trip to Germany last year.
The challenge, Chapman noted, is that "it is going to take real money to keep it as an arts center and update it the way it needs to be done."
The cost of the revitalization of the center is estimated to be $10 million to $15 million as it is implemented over the next decade.
Ultimately, the goal of the action plan is to ensure that the Torpedo Art Factory is welcoming to as wide an audience as possible while still retaining its purpose as a haven for the arts. It will continue to be operated by the City of Alexandria Office of the Arts. Read more from the City about the Torpedo Factory Art Center action plan here.
