While I applaud keeping businesses in Alexandria, architecturally it seems we are becoming Clarendon. And that is NOT a good thing. Other considerations, will this building be LEED certified? Are the considering solar panels? What is being done to reduce the energy footprint?

Size and all is fine, but it does not fit in with the surrounding archtecture, all though is looklike a nice building but would fit in architectually in the west end or the Eisenhower corridor west of Telegraph

The design is out of place for Alexandria. Where's the red brick?

The traffic along route 1 at any given point in the day is already overloaded and cumbersome to travelers. Placing a business with several thousand employees in this space that is not currently ready for traffic increases is dangerous. Also, if this employer is government is this just more non-revenue generating businesses in the City and how does that help the City? They should be expected to pay for the infrastructure to support the additional traffic. Big mistake that was made with BRAC should be addressed early in this process. It will be years before a metro station is at Potomac Yards, if ever. the developer should have to pay for that in order to have the right to build in this location. NOt the citizens of Alexandria- If you say that there will be a 1.16 parking space to space ration of 1,000 sq. feet then that woudl be almost 43,000 parking spaces (1.16 X 37,000 = 42,920 spaces) and your article says the garage will have 580 spaces...something does not compute unless I am figuring it entirely wrong. In addition, you talk about the $30,000 donation as if that is a big deal when the reality is it probably will not pay but for a couple calming 'bumps' in the road...not impressed. The metro station and the busing issues should all have to be worked out and confirmed prior to any agreement on development so that we are not in the same position we were in with BRAC on the West End. I think this means that I will need to give up shopping at Potomac Yards...

Thanks for the comment, Vicki. I believe the ratio is of office use space. Not all 370,000 square feet of the structure is for office use. I'm not sure what you mean by your "big deal" statement. I was only explaining how the traffic-calming money came to be.

Despite what Council says, I doubt the Metro station is coming anytime soon -- if ever. The total costs as of now (construction plus bonds plus bond interest) is somewhere around $538 million. They City does not have that much in bonding capacity, and cannot afford pay-as-you-go (unless they want to dramatically cut services). If Council thinks it is going to get funding from VA or Feds, I'd like to know what they've been smoking, since that funding is extremely unlikely (read: virtually impossible).

As many ignorant drivers as there are passing through Alexandria on route 1, I've never understood why BRT goes down the middle of the road forcing pedestrians to confront people like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC5BG1F9sYQ

Metro's REX bus doesn't use special lanes. BRT should turn left into Potomac yard and make a loop through there instead of forcing pedestrians to navigate crossing the street.

If I recall correctly, and please correct me I am wrong, the shopping center has a 20-year life-span. Back when the City was debating whether or not to to put a stadium for the Redskins, didn't the residents urge City Council to choose to put a shopping center in that space and then also decide to build homes/businesses?

Didn't we decide that businesses and homes make more sense than having a stadium?

I need someone else to refresh my recollections if I am not recalling things correctly.

Thanks,
Kim

When PY was approved by Council in the mid 1990s, I believe the shopping center had a 20-year lease with a renewal option. Kerry Donley helped negotiate that deal as mayor (I had a very peripheral role). Ask Kerry. He might recall.

The comments are focused on the wrong things. The greater issues are: whats the value to Alex of having a secured defense agency fronting a pedestrian town center (which per Fed guidelines will ook to pay little/no taxes (ala BRAC). A hotel was planned there to create pedestrian animation, bring retail, and add max tax dollars to City. IDA does the opposite; an office park used only by the locals . There is plenty of vacant office space in Alex if needed. Further, the cost for proposed Metro is stupendous and will NEVER create INCREMENTAL value for the City. IDA is proof developers will build there without the certainty of a Metro. Meanwhile, Braddock, Eisenhower and Van Dorn remain neglected as economic engines with no sense of place. Where are the planning and Econ dev't departments?

As someone who has lived near Braddock Place since 1995 and commutes via Metro, I have noticed a dramatically increased number of passengers on the platform since the Merdian projects were built. Depending upon the time of day, it often is difficult to get on the platform (especially if there's a delay). That likely will get worse after the project under construction at the paint site opens, let alone the one behind the Braddock Place Condos. And heaven help us if and when Council's vision of massive development along PY comes to fruition.