Mayor Alyia Gaskins identified economic development as the critical path to potential future tax relief for Alexandria residents, emphasizing that significant commercial growth is necessary to balance the city’s predominantly residential tax base.
“If we are looking to one day get to a state where we’re able to reduce taxes, then that is directly tied to our big swings around economic development,” Gaskins said during a one-on-one Ask The Mayor conversation with ALXnow Publisher Ryan Belmore on Wednesday (May 21)
The mayor pointed to neighboring jurisdictions like Falls Church and Loudoun County that have leveraged development to reduce tax burdens on residents. She noted that Alexandria must find its own unique economic strategy to achieve similar results.
“We have to find what is our strategy, what is the thing that works for us and what’s going to be that big swing,” Gaskins explained. “That’s the only way we get there in a time when other sources of revenue are decreasing, when people’s jobs and economic stability is changing, and when the needs people have in our community are growing and more complex.”
The city recently held an economic summit that drew approximately 300 attendees on-site and 500 registrants overall. The event marked the beginning of Alexandria’s first comprehensive economic development strategy since 2007 – a plan that previously laid the groundwork for transformative projects, including the Potomac Yard Metro, landmark redevelopment, Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, and waterfront improvements.
“Being able to have a clear north star of where do we want to go is going to be essential for the future,” Gaskins said.
The mayor identified several key themes emerging from the summit, including tools to diversify the local economy, pivoting from federal government reliance, supporting arts and culture, recruiting and retaining small businesses, and developing a strong workforce pipeline.
Arts and culture emerged as a consistent priority across different workgroups at the summit. Gaskins noted there’s “a hunger and a desire to really think about how we continue to invest in and support arts, entertainment, and cultural uses in our city.”
She pointed to the recently sold-out One Voice concert, the city’s first citywide choral festival, as evidence of community interest in cultural programming. The event was so successful that attendees immediately called for it to become an annual tradition.
The economic development strategy process continues with surveys, focus groups, and community conversations throughout the summer. Consultants will combine this feedback with market data to create a draft plan expected to be presented to the City Council in late summer or early September.
Regarding specific development areas, Gaskins emphasized the importance of thinking citywide rather than focusing exclusively on high-profile locations like Potomac Yard.
“I think we do ourselves a disservice or miss an opportunity if we’re not thinking citywide, because then we are looking at one area to solve every problem and to do everything and it can’t,” she explained.
For Potomac Yard specifically, Gaskins hopes to gain more clarity on community priorities. When residents express desires for entertainment uses, hotels, or retail, she wants to understand the specifics behind those requests and identify necessary trade-offs to move projects forward.
The mayor also highlighted progress on affordable housing initiatives, including the Samuel Madden development and Witter Place. The Samuel Madden project will ultimately create 532 new affordable homes across two phases, with phase one now moving to construction after closing. All 66 current residents have the right to return, and the completed development will include units for households from 30% to 80% of area median income.
Witter Place, which broke ground recently, will provide 94 affordable homes on Duke Street, primarily family-sized units with two to four bedrooms. The development will include a mural and new open space.
Looking ahead, Gaskins outlined several major items coming before the City Council in the near future, including:
– A community health needs assessment
– New management standards for council-appointed employees
– Potential creation of council standing committees
– Review of the city’s boards and commissions system
– Updates on major development projects like Robinson Terminal North and the power plant
– Decisions on waterfront flood mitigation
– Updates to the city’s green building policy
The mayor also noted that the city is increasing its capacity to address noise complaints by funding an additional noise inspector position in the recent budget. This inspector will be available during evenings and weekends to respond to quality-of-life issues.
Gaskins encourages residents to stay connected with her office and invites youth ages 14 to 18 to attend the next Mayoral Youth Forum on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Charles Houston Recreation Center.
Watch the full conversation
Publisher’s Note: I’m sorry I didn’t notice that my nametag was wrong during this conversation. What’sUpNewp is a publication that I own in Newport, Rhode Island.
Ask The Mayor
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins joins ALXnow for a live one-on-one virtual video conversation on a monthly basis.
Our “Ask The Mayor” series provides Alexandria residents with regular opportunities to hear directly from Mayor Gaskins on pressing city issues and to submit their questions for consideration. Ryan Belmore, Publisher of ALXnow, will host these 30-minute live virtual video conversations.
Our next conversation will be on Tuesday, June 3, at 11 a.m. Beginning in June, the conversations will establish a regular cadence, occurring on the first Tuesday of each month at 11 a.m., creating consistency for viewers who wish to participate regularly. Schedule adjustments may occur, and we encourage residents to monitor our platforms for any updates to the interview calendar.
The conversation will be broadcast live across multiple digital platforms, including the ALXnow website, Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. The interviews can be viewed live or anytime afterward on each platform. The interviews will be turned into a podcast, and a story will follow each conversation.
The format encourages community engagement. Residents are invited to submit questions through the Google form here or by commenting during the live broadcasts on any of ALXnow’s social media channels.
