Despite multiple failed attempts over the past decade, two Alexandria City Council members advocated Thursday (May 14) for bringing a Business Improvement District to Old Town.
Under a challenging economic outlook, City Council Members Sandy Marks and John Taylor Chapman said that Old Town’s business community needs an organized push to attract visitors. The council members made the remarks during the Chamber ALX’s annual City Council Breakfast, which was held at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town (1767 King Street).
“I’d like to see this in neighborhoods across Alexandria, and I think that’s something we can work on together, but we’re going to need this,” Marks said. “We’re going to need the support of the people in this room if we’re going to get it done.”
The last effort to create a BID in Old Town, in 2024, failed to garner the required 60% support from area businesses. The proposal — which received just 35% support — would have added a $0.10 service tax to the real property tax rate for businesses to hire an executive director and staff and manage beautification and outreach efforts. More than a dozen BIDs operate in D.C. and Northern Virginia, including the Rosslyn BID, the National Landing BID and the Ballston BID.
“The time has come,” Charlotte Hall, the former chair of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce and organizer of the 2024 failed BID, told ALXnow at the meeting.
The 2024 BID defeat also led to the closure of the decades-old Old Town Business Association, which Hall had also led.
Chapman said BIDs work because businesses contribute directly to efforts tied to their own success.
“We’ve been very diplomatic about trying to roll out the BID process, but it continues to trouble us that we continue to see success everywhere else in the region with business improvement districts, and we don’t have one,” Chapman said. “If you hear our local government talk about a BID again, please support us … There are some real opportunities out there that, if you get around the region, other neighborhoods are hidden. They are being able to take advantage of because they have that collection and support from other businesses working together.”
While state law does not require approval by property owners, Mayor Alyia Gaskins was more cautious about reintroducing a BID to Old Town.
“We know the power of BIDs, but we also know the power of our community,” Gaskins told ALXnow. “We have to have a different type of conversation. It can’t be the same conversation that’s been re-hatched year after year after year.”
