Chamber, City Officials to Speak in Support of Bill to Add State Financing to Potomac Yard Metro

Alexandria city officials and members of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce are scheduled to testify in a state committee hearing Monday in support of a bill to generate state funding for a Potomac Yard Metro station.

The Potomac Yard Metro Tax Increment Bill (HB-1650), introduced by Del. Rob Krupicka (D-45th), provides that if an infill Metro station is constructed in a service district in a locality—in this case, the city of Alexandria—then the locality is entitled to retain the sales and use tax revenue generated in the district to pay bonds issued to construct the station.

The bill would place a $1.25 million a year cap on the tax revenue retained. The state would support approximately 10 percent of the cost of the Metro construction at about $1 million per year for 30 years.

The financing model has been used elsewhere in the commonwealth to fund sports stadiums and convention centers.

“I think we have to take an approach the state can afford and may want to replicate,” Krupicka told Patch in December. “The state is going to raise a lot of money off the Potomac Yard Metro station with retail tax. I think the state needs to participate [in funding the Potomac Yard Metro station].”

The city’s Potomac Yard Metro Implementation Work Group is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall to review the ongoing environmental impact study (EIS) for a station.

The city has narrowed down three alternative station sites as part of the EIS process. The group will discuss funding plans for the three alternatives in the spring. Much of the funding for the station is expected to come from the city.

“There’s definitely a sentiment to move forward [on a Potomac Yard Metro station],” Councilwoman Del Pepper said at a Del Ray Citizens Association meeting on Jan. 14. “There is a will that we will do it one way or another. It’s a value not just to this city but the whole area."