Meeting this month to provide details on remediation plans for Old Town North’s power plant

Beyond the usual mixed-use development topics planned for the immense power plant in Old Town North, there are two other critical issues up for review at a meeting later this month: how the development will handle the rampant contamination at the site and a look at plans for new open space.

Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) have scheduled a community meeting to discuss the remediation and open space plans on Monday, Jan. 30, at 6:30 p.m. The developer will stream the meeting online, but attendees can join in person at ALX Community (201 N Union Street).

The NRG Potomac River Generating Station — also called by its former name, the GenOn power plant — shut down in 2012, but the site will require extensive remediation efforts after leaky storage tanks bled pollutants into the soil.

Preliminary plans identify areas where chemicals and oil were released on site, and notably the entire southern portion of the property was used as coal and coal ash storage, Washington Business Journal reported. While initial plans said demolition could start this year, that was recently pushed back to mid-2024.

The current plan or the redevelopment also includes 14.2 acres of new or improved open space, with the potential to improve parts of the Mount Vernon Trail adjacent to the site if Hilco can find a way to work with the National Park Service.

Those planning to attend the upcoming meeting can register online.