Plans for a new fountain and “splash park” at the north end of Del Ray are moving forward as the city aims to have design finished by the end of the year.
The Del Ray Gateway project is a plan to redevelop a triangular park where Mount Vernon and Commonwealth Avenues meet into a water-based community play area.
At a meeting of the Alexandria Commission for the Arts, Diane Ruggiero, director of the Office of the Arts, said that an artist had been chosen for the park. Ruggiero said Béatrice Coron was selected from a group of 73 applicants.
“The sprayground will have a multi-seasonal, multi-generation use,” Ruggiero said. “We want to make sure the artwork is kid friendly and we want the artwork to serve a functional purpose.”
Splash parks, or spray parks, are parks with built-in jets of water that children can run through and play in.
“I love her work, I’m excited about this,” said Commissioner Beth Coast. “It’s about time Alexandria has a spray park. I used to drive my kids to Arlington, but now they’re 17 and they don’t need a spray park.”
Construction on the park is scheduled to start in 2022, and Ruggiero said for any with more immediate splash park needs could go to the Potomac Yard park that opened earlier this year.
“This will be a great addition to the community, the community is really excited about it,” Ruggiero said, “and this will be our first piece of artwork by a woman.”
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If you had a chance to enhance a child’s future with a time commitment of less than 2 hours a week, how would you respond? You have that opportunity right now to join over 200 Alexandrians as a reading tutor volunteer with the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC).
ATC tutors work with one child in kindergarten, first, or second grade in Alexandria public schools who need extra help with reading. Tutors meet with their Book Buddy 1-2 times each week for 30 minutes October-May at school, during school hours. Many struggling readers only receive one-on-one instruction through this program, and it makes all the difference. Last year, ATC served 195 children, of whom 82% ended the year reading on grade level and 96% made substantial reading gains. But the need is great, and we are still seeing learning lags from the pandemic.
This year, ATC plans to significantly increase the size of the program to reach over 250 students and to serve every elementary school in Alexandria. This is very exciting news, but we will only succeed if we can recruit more tutors. ATC trains you, matches you with a child, and provides ongoing lesson materials and support.
If you have been thinking about buying your first home or haven’t owned one in the last three years, THIS IS FOR YOU!
In the DMV area, it can be difficult to save the downpayment necessary for you to get into your own home. We have a solution. The Funder’s Summit!
We have assembled a summit with different municipalities to tell you how to access their funds for your home purchase.
2023 Alexandria Fall Festival
Food trucks, bounce houses, pony rides, magic shows and more at the 2023 Alexandria Fall Festival, an Alexandria Living event presented by The Patterson Group. Join us at River Farm on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
