Power Plant Redevelopment In Alexandria Earns State Planning Award

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Plans to redevelop a former coal power plant into a mixed-use development earned a state-level award for Alexandria.

The Red Clay Development of the Year Award is being awarded to the City of Alexandria's Department of Planning and Zoning for the redevelopment of the Potomac River Generating Station in Old Town North. The award, presented by Virginia's chapter of the American Planning Association, "honors a development that exhibits the values of great planning, helping to create a great place in Virginia." Nominees typically focus on infill developments, building rehabilitation projects, brownfield redevelopments, downtown redevelopment and related projects.

"The future redevelopment of the Potomac River Generating Station highlights how early planning and public-private partnerships are essential steps in the success of a sustainable brownfield revitalization that will meet Alexandria’s Citywide goals," said Julie Chop, the vice president of external affairs for Virginia's chapter of the American Planning Association.

According to Virginia's American Planning Association, the 18.8-acre power plant is one of Alexandria's largest remaining brownfields, typically sites impacted by former industrial use that have potential for redevelopment. In July 2022, Alexandria City Council approved the development district zoning and conceptual design plan for the former power plant from developer Hilco Redevelopment partners.

Hilco Development Partners had bought the site in 2020 and will conduct environmental remediation of the site in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. there are expected to be residential uses as well as possible commercial uses like office, arts, innovation, hotel and retail. The redevelopment will also add new streetscapes, sidewalks and open space improving waterfront access.

Virginia's American Planning Association says the power plant redevelopment plan includes practices that communities across Virginia can use, including carbon reduction targets and installing bioretention areas.

Alexandria is no stranger to awards from the American Planning Association's Virginia chapter. In 2022, the city's Arlandria-Chirilagua Small Area Plan won the 2022 Commonwealth Plan of the Year Award, while the Landmark Mall redevelopment project won the 2022 Red Clay Development of the Year Award.

City of Alexandria's power plant redevelopment project staff will be recognized with the Red Clay Development of the Year Award during an award ceremony at 12 p.m. Tuesday at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center in Roanoke, Virginia.