Alexandria City Council signaled support Tuesday night for spending $150,000 to study an alternative location for a controversial flood mitigation pump station. This move would pause current design work for several months.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins introduced the proposal during council member updates, explaining that the Waterfront Commission had recently requested staff examine 1 Prince Street as an alternative to the current Waterfront Park location.
“There is no vote before this council, but we have had a number of residents, community members, and stakeholders,” Gaskins said. “I wanted to bring this to all of your attention because that is something that would require more than eight hours of work,” referencing the city’s policy requiring council direction for substantial staff assignments.
The study would cost approximately $150,000 and require an “additional kind of three-month pause from our current work to go back and look at this,” according to the mayor.
The proposal comes after months of opposition from the Alexandria Waterfront Alliance and other community groups. A Change.org petition has garnered over 970 signatures opposing the Waterfront Park location, while the Alexandria Waterfront Alliance has described the project as “destructive, unnecessary, wasteful, and in violation of public trust.”
The Waterfront Alliance recently presented architectural renderings to the Waterfront Commission, showing how the pump facility could be integrated into the existing structure at 1 Prince Street, while creating space above for a maritime museum, education center, or commercial development.
Councilman Kirk McPike said he agreed with “taking a couple of months here, spending some money to really shape the options provided to us” and examining 1 Prince Street as “a worthwhile thing for us to do.”
Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley expressed support for the study, noting the financial implications of potential delays.
“I am preparing myself and the community, and I think this is what you were sort of eloquently alluding to, that we are going to have a difficult conversation, I think, at the end of this process,” Bagley said. “So I’m comfortable moving forward. But I hope when we get to the end of this process, the community will, you know, meet us with the hand we are reaching, reaching out and join us in what will be a challenging decision to make.”
Bagley added that the council should move forward as “a council of action on an issue that will only get worse with time.”
According to previous city presentations, relocating to 1 Prince Street would require an additional $25 million to $45 million in funding and delay the project by two to four years. The alternative would also create more extensive construction impacts, requiring street closures on South Union Street from King to Prince for up to eight months, as well as closures on Strand Street and the Prince Street block for eight to 18 months.
Gaskins said the study does not commit the city to the alternative location. Staff would conduct the analysis and return to the council with findings comparing the costs and impacts of both options.
According to city data, the waterfront experienced 227 flooding events at the Prince Street level in the past year, compared to a 20-year average of 145 events. Current flood-related costs range from $400,000 to $800,000 annually in cleanup, sandbagging, and lost business revenue.
By 2100, the city projects 353 annual flooding events at the Prince Street level without intervention.
The $145 million flood mitigation project aims to address three primary sources of waterfront flooding: backflow from the Potomac River into sewers, river water overtopping aging bulkheads, and heavy rain runoff.
If the study proceeds, staff will work with the design firm to examine the 1 Prince Street option using the same analysis applied to previous alternatives. The findings would then return to the council for a decision on whether to proceed with the current Waterfront Park plan or pursue the alternative location.
Construction under the current plan is scheduled to begin in summer 2027, with completion targeted for spring 2029.
