Potomac Yard development hitting some snags

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The developer of Potomac Yard anticipates running into potentially construction-halting deadlines on the 165-acre development of the old Alexandria rail yard by the end of the year.

Before final site plans can be approved for more than 1 million square feet of construction, Potomac Yard Development must build a pedestrian bridge across the rail tracks, according to a 1999 agreement.

The developer expects the city by the end of the year to approve plans for a project that would put Potomac Yard development past the 1-million-square-foot mark, said Jon Lindgren, a land acquisitions manager with Pulte Homes, a partner in Potomac Yard Development LLC.

Alexandria’s parks and recreation commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Thursday to discuss the developer’s proposed locations for the bridge and a dog park and its proposal to deed a narrow, 4-acre strip for a park to the city.

“We have a proposal for the location [for the bridge], but it needs to go through the community process,” said Duncan Blair, the developer’s attorney.

The developer proposes building the bridge just south of the Potomac Yard stores. The location links existing bike trails with the strip of land across the tracks that will be a park, Lindgren said. Once the strip is city property, residents can decide what kind of park it should be, Blair said. They also propose building a dog park near the Monroe Avenue bridge, instead of on the strip, as originally proposed.

Sandwiched between the railroad and Metro tracks, the strip is difficult to access, said Aimee Vosper, the city’s park planning division chief. As a result, it cannot be used for sports fields, she said.

“The city got robbed on open space,” said Judy Noritake, the parks and recreation commission chairwoman, who faults the city and original developer for poor planning 10 years ago. “It’s a scrappy piece of land and we’ll use it as best we can.”

There are many potential uses for the strip, such as gardens or rock climbing walls, she said.

Public hearing

» Comment can be made at 7 p.m. Thursday, at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center, 2701 Commonwealth Ave.

mhegstad@dcexaminer.com