Potomac Yard Metro: Getting Back on Track?

Alexandria officials said this week they hope to determine the location of a Potomac Yard Metro station by the end of 2014.

Members of the city work group charged with analyzing the plan met Monday for the first time in more than six months to discuss the latest developments in efforts to bring an infill station to the yard, including potentially moving CSX tracks to accommodate the project.

The city is looking into pursuing $58 million in regional project funding from the Northern Virginia Transit Authority to assist the project. If secured, it will diversify the project’s funding scheme and reduce the annual debt service.

Over the second half of 2013, the project stalled on issues related to constructing the city’s preferred build option. Those issues included encroachment onto National Park Service land along the George Washington Memorial Parkway and a scenic easement in the north end of Potomac Greens.

“We’ve already seen the schedule slip about 12 months already,” said former mayor Kerry Donley, an at-large member of the group. “One of the aspects here is not to let it slip anymore. It’s not in anyone’s interest to let this unravel.”

The city delayed the environmental impact study of three station alternatives—two at-grade stations east of the CSX tracks and a third aerial station to the west of the tracks—as it sorts through some of the issues facing the project. A no-build option is also part of the study, though Mayor Bill Euille has consistently said building a station is a priority.

“We need to have a Metro station otherwise we will not achieve all our goals and everything we’re desiring [at Potomac Yard],” Euille said.

Planners are in the process of developing new construction schedules and updated cost projects. Currently the high-end estimates for the three options range between $195 million and $462 million. The aerial station carries the highest price tag and has never been considered a realistic option. 

The second at-grade station option, dubbed Alternative B, is considered the preferred option from the city and developers because it puts the density of the development closest to the station.

The selection of Alternative B also carries a $49 million contribution to the city from the developer of the Potomac Yard Shopping Center, which is slotted for a massive redevelopment after a Metro station is constructed.

The biggest question at the moment is the feasibility of changing the alignment of the CSX tracks to build an alternative to Alternative B.

Deputy City Manager Mark Jinks estimated that would add $50 to $100 million to the $250 million price tag for the preferred station. Along with the track, fiber-optic cables and a jet fuel line would have to be moved.

“If we do financial projections and it’s clearly a no-go, then we don’t have to go forward,” Jinks said.

The CSX option would also call for razing the Regal Cinema at Potomac Yard. The theater doesn’t have a buyout clause in its lease, which runs through the end of 2018. If a station involving the realignment of the CSX tracks is chosen, it likely wouldn’t be completed until 2022 at the earliest.

Donley said there is also the cost of lost opportunities in landing federal office tenants in a redeveloped north end of Potomac Yard.

“The competition for [General Services Administration] leases is all going to change when the Silver Line becomes operational,” he said. “Those leases then go somewhere else, and we’re left with whatever is left over and we lose our advantages, including proximity to the Pentagon and D.C.”

The CSX option would also reduce the amount of new development slotted to replace the current shopping center.

Council approved the initial redevelopment plan in 2010, but the developer would like to do some reconfiguring to meet a change in the market and in preferred building design.

Planners and city officials have said the re-planning is best to be discussed after the location of a Metro station is determined.

The redevelopment of the Potomac Yard Shopping Center also could be a slow endeavor. It was revealed Monday that some leases on the current shopping center have been extended to 2028. Successful stores aren’t likely to accept buyouts, but officials said a decision and schedule for a Metro station could likely expedite the termination of leases. 

“Certainty is the key here,” Donley said. “The sooner we make a decision on a station, the better. I think it’s real important we stay on task.”