A new “passport”-inspired promotion will encourage Alexandria residents to shop locally along the Duke Street corridor.
The City of Alexandria is planning a Duke Street Business Passport Program for businesses within a half-mile of Duke Street. The upcoming program would track shoppers’ passport progress with QR codes and award $25 gift certificates to five participants who visit the most passport businesses.
The program is under development and could launch when it secures enough business participants — potentially in mid- to late February. Once the program is up and running, residents will be able to view a map of participating businesses.
The passport was an early idea of the Duke Street Land Use Plan, a process to update the land use vision for the Duke Street corridor.
In a community poll conducted over the summer, businesses were respondents’ favorite part of the Duke Street corridor, urban planner Christian Brandt told ALXnow. Business owners in the poll expressed interest in marketing or help accessing the customer base.
“We also heard from community members that even though they love the businesses, they find it difficult to sort of navigate to them,” Brandt said. “But it sometimes feels difficult to discover these new businesses, and part of that is because of the nature of the corridor being super congested and hard to get around.”
The city is also planning to publish a social media series featuring interviews with businesses about Duke Street.
The Duke Street Land Use Plan, launched to the public in June 2025, is the first major land use update to the Duke Street corridor for the first time since 1992. The process covers the Duke Street corridor from Alexandria Union Station to Van Dorn Street at the redevelopment of the Landmark Mall site.
“There was interest from Planning and Zoning, but also from the [City] Council and Planning Commission to update that land use guidance in advance of any significant changes or development interests coming, so that we can get the types of amenities that people want today, as opposed to the types of amenities and development that we said we wanted in 1992,” Brandt said.
The Business Passport Program is one way to reach residents who may not have already known about the Duke Street Land Use Plan. But Brandt considers that a win if it generates more resident support for local businesses.
“This was mostly for fun. It is also a helpful marketing tool for the city,” Brandt said. “This is a kind of engagement that I that I call ‘stumble-upon engagement,’ where we’re not necessarily doing targeted outreach to community members, but we’re getting the Duke Street Land Use Plan logo and name out in community places where people will encounter it.”
Businesses within a half-mile of Duke Street are eligible to participate in the Business Passport Program. Business owners may fill out a form or contact Brandt at [email protected] to sign up.
