Del Ray is on the 2023 list of the Most Endangered Historic Sites in Virginia, according to Preservation Virginia.
The organization is a privately-funded, statewide historic preservation organization that has existed for more than 100 years. It is dedicated to education and runs six historic sites across the Commonwealth.
Earlier this month, Preservation Virginia released its 2023 list of the most endangered historic sites in Virginia. The list included nine individual locations and two thematic nominations "facing substantial threats."
In addition to portions of Del Ray, the list includes buildings in Hampton, Norfolk, Richmond and Prince William County. The complete list can be found here: https://preservationvirginia.org/our-work/most-endangered-historic-places.
For Del Ray, the listing is actually for the Town of Potomac Historic District, which the City of Alexandria annexed in 1930. It later became known as Del Ray. The area "[represents] a significant example of a planned suburban community served by expanding transportation opportunities, was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1991 and to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992."
"Today, the 1,840-acre historic district includes a concentration of residences, including an eclectic collection of Foursquares, Bungalows (many Sears kit houses), Colonial Revival, Folk Victorian, Mediterranean Revival, modified Queen Anne and Tudor Revival houses, that are pleasantly arranged in a comfortable pedestrian and development scale," according to Preservation Virginia.
So why is the Town of Potomac endangered? Preservation Virginia reported:
"Many recent residents and developers in need of larger living space are demolishing the historic, mid-sized houses to build new, often outsized and out-of-character houses in their place. Approximately 75 houses in the Town of Potomac Historic District have been demolished in recent years, and the rate of loss is accelerating."
Preservation Virginia notes the environmental impact of tearing down buildings and building new ones, and suggests a Historic Overlay District could help stem the losses. "...There is no local process to review, slow down, or prevent the demolition of the district’ contributing buildings. Implementing a local overlay district with guidelines and review by an architectural review board, such as in Old Town Alexandria and the Parker-Gray Historic District, could be a way to help stem tear-downs in the Town of Potomac Historic District," Preservation Virginia historians wrote.
“This recognition of Del Ray as endangered is ironic and timely,” said Nate Hurto, co-founder of the neighborhood advocacy group Save Del Ray. “Historic Alexandria is quickly being overdeveloped into a sea of placeless design and plaques marking what was once here. Alexandria’s economic growth and character has long been rooted in preservation of form and scale. While developers ‘build assets,’ they are eliminating what has made Alexandria unique and desirable for residents and visitors alike. We hope that this dubious distinction will help City Council and Staff understand that many of the proposed land use policy changes currently being considered will create irreparable harm to our historic assets.”
"The historic district has been an economic engine not just for the Del Ray community but for Alexandria. The integrity of the small town that still exists so close to DC is a major reason folks want to live here and raise families said Rod Kuckro, a two-time president of the Del Ray Citizens Association, founder of the Town of Potomac Historic District and long-time Del Ray Resident. “But the threat to the district has never been greater. That is why the city needs to take immediate action to confer on the Town of Potomac district protections similar to those afforded to the Old & Historic District and the Parker-Gray Historic district," he said.
