Metro at Potomac Yard?

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Alexandria officials and Metro this week will discuss an idea that's been batted about since the 1990s -- building a Metro station at Potomac Yard.

"We are at the point where it behooves us to focus on this right now," Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille tells WTOP.

"This is all at the very beginning stages, and it may not happen until five or 10 years down the road, but we want to make sure that we don't miss our chance."

Potomac Yard, which started undergoing redevelopment in the 1990s, is now a growing mix of retail and residential space. It is bordered by the George Washington Parkway, Jefferson Davis Highway and Four Mile Run. All told, 300 acres make up the area.

This Thursday, the Metrorail Station Feasibility Work Group will meet in Alexandria's City Hall to discuss the prospect of a subway station between the Braddock Road and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport stations on the Blue and Yellow Lines.

The idea of a rail station there was first floated when the 589,856-square-foot Potomac Yard shopping center was built in 1997. Since then, the density of development in that part of Alexandria has dramatically increased.

Metro further studied the idea last year. The estimated price tag would be as high as $150 million.

Metro General Manager John Catoe is on record as saying he thinks a Potomac Yard Station would be a great addition to the Metrorail system.

"They know that the area is ripe to do this," says Euille.

But $150 million is not exactly chump change. Euille says some of that money would come from Alexandria. Some could come from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

However, the bulk of the funding would have to come from the property owners who live and work near the station.

"The community is chomping at the bit to make this happen. The city and Metro just have to convince the property owners that this project will benefit them more than anything else."

Planners say the addition of a Metro station so close to residential and commercial property would be an asset to the area.

The last time a rail station was added to the Metro system was in 2004, when the New York Avenue Station opened on the Red Line. That station is what is known as a "infill" station because it was built between two existing stops, the Rhode Island Avenue and Union Station stops.

Much like New York Avenue, Potomac Yard would be an infill station, going in between Braddock Road and Reagan National Airport.

The first, official public meeting on the Potomac Yard Station will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in room 1101 of Alexandria City Hall.

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