Neighborhoods next to the proposed $2 billion arena at Potomac Yard are against the project, according to results from a recent poll.
Of the 496 survey respondents from the Del Ray Citizens Association, Hume Springs Civic Association, Lynhaven Civic Association and the Rosemont Citizens Association, 58% oppose the project, 29% support it, 12% have mixed feelings and just under 1% aren’t sure.
The survey was created with Zoho and fielded from Feb. 13 to Feb. 26 to more than 1,200 members from the four associations. There was an overall response rate of 43%.
The top concerns for residents were:
- Increased traffic and congestion
- Impact on resident parking
- Cost to Alexandria taxpayers
- Public subsidies to private organizations
- Cost to Virginia taxpayers
The Coalition to Stop the Arena at Potomac Yard said that the poll was a confirmation.
“Alexandria residents do not want this two billion-dollar white elephant,” said coalition organizer Andrew Macdonald, a former vice mayor. “We don’t need the noise, the traffic, or the pollution, and the city needs to concentrate on important challenges like housing, education and sewage issues.”
Vice Mayor also opposes arena
The embattled project was dealt a decisive blow last week when the Virginia General Assembly refused to include it in its fiscal year 2025 budget, prompting even Vice Mayor Amy Jackson to publicly remove her support. Only three months ago, Jackson and her City Council colleagues sat onstage in Potomac Yard as Mayor Justin Wilson congratulated Monumental Sports and Entertainment owner Ted Leonsis on choosing to move the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals from D.C. to Potomac Yard. Jackson, who is running for mayor, took a selfie with Leonsis after the event, but the next three months proved disastrous for the development.
“Fully expected it,” Jackson tweeted on March 6. “It was not ready for prime time. Let’s start discussing another path for an entertainment district without an arena but will have affordable family-centric activities for our youth and families.”
Jackson is the first member of City Council to go against the project, although she is joined in her disapproval by one of her Democratic opponents, Steven Peterson. A third mayoral candidate, City Council Member Alyia Gaskins, says that her interest is maintained by the project’s economic potential.
After the announcement of the arena on Dec. 13, the city embarked on a series of community meetings to educate the public and solicit feedback. No future public discussions, pop-ups or information sessions were listed as of last week.
Alexandria School Board Members went all-in Wednesday night in asking City Council to fund its budget by approving a massive tax increase.
Mayor Justin Wilson told the Board at a budget work session on Wednesday night that its fiscal year 2025 $384.4 million combined funds budget request would result in a historic tax increase. The Board, in turn, said that the funding could stem the school system’s staffing crisis.
“To be candid, the combination of the operating requests and the capital requests is probably about a 6 cent tax increase, which is not viable,” Wilson said, adding that it would be the largest tax increase since the 5.7 cent tax increase of 2017 raised the average residential property tax bill by more than $300.
The Board’s proposed budget, which was approved last month, surprised Wilson and other Council Members, who said they were left in the dark with its development.
“I’ve heard nothing around a strategic look at how we pay folks,” City Council Member John Taylor Chapman told the Board. “I know many of you personally. I know you care about what you do. I know you are professionals. So, when I say ‘Hey, I expect you to bring a great budget to Council and Council is going to fund it,’ I don’t expect you to be just willy nilly. I expect you to be focused and I think that’s who you are.”
School Board Chair Michelle Rief countered that the Board has been strategic in its thinking, and that she prioritizes the 2% market rate adjustment for staff as the most important addition that needs funding.
“In my opinion, to sort of go out publicly and tell us to fight for the thing that we need and then come here and tell us that we’re we’re asking for too much, I think might be a political strategy on your part,” Rief said.
Vice Mayor Amy Jackson, who is running for mayor, said that the city should raise taxes to fully fund the school system’s budget request.
“I know it’s a sacrifice for all of us,” Jackson said. “I mean, we all live here in the city, and raising taxes would be a sacrifice.”
Jackson was the only Council member to not criticize the school system’s budget during the meeting.
“I just feel like we need to get close to what they’re asking for, if not fully funded,” Jackson said. “I think raising taxes also will mean that hopefully we’re not cutting our services and that our services are remaining at the optimum level for our residents and our businesses, but also making sure that our schools are remaining competitive and keeping our community stronger.”
School Board Member Tammy Ignacio was brought to tears while recounting the stresses that staff and students are experiencing.
“We have got to be able to compete with our surrounding jurisdictions,” Ignacio said. “In my 32 years in education, I have never seen it this bad. I have never seen the level of kids in a classroom without a teacher in front of them.”
City Council will set a maximum tax rate next week, allowing the City Manager to pursue some of the Board’s proposed additions, which include $4.2 million for staffers who did not get step increases in fiscal year 2021 and a $5.4 million (2%) market rate adjustment for all eligible staff.
Council Member Alyia Gaskins, who is running against Jackson in the Democratic mayoral primary, said she is in favor of advertising a higher tax rate to consider the additions.
“We have to deliver a balanced budget that responds to the needs of our community and that means doing right by our teachers and students,” Gaskins said. “If in the end we decide an increase is necessary, then I will be leading the charge to figure out relief for those who cannot keep affording these increases, like seniors on fixed incomes or others who are one tax increase away from not being able to afford to live here.”
School Board Member Abdel Elnoubi, who is running for City Council, said that he’s asking them to make an unpopular decision during an election year.
“It’s your decision to decide whether you want to raise taxes or not,” Elnoubi said. “If you do that, if you decide to raise taxes, I’m 100% with you… Let me just address the elephant in the room. It is an election year and as a School Board Member I’m in a less tough position.”
Four City Council Members are seeking reelection, and two members are running for mayor. Elnoubi and School Board Member Jacinta Greene are also running in the June 18 Democratic City Council primary.
Elnoubi said that from Council’s perspective, the Board gets to take credit for the increased funding while City Council has to deal with the consequences of raising taxes.
“That’s very viable, that is the political reality of things,” Elnoubi said. “What I will tell you is we are doing what we think is right for the school system… I would be derelict in my duty if I don’t ask you for what we need, understanding full well you may not be able to give it to us, which is fine.”
Wilson said that the Board needs to work closer with Council to craft not only this budget, but future budgets.
“It is impossible for us to resolve the gap on both the capital and operating side,” he said. “So we are going to pick a number and to come to some conclusion to our process, and it’s going to be challenging to arrive at that number without some really good input from the School Board as to what that should be.”
School Board Member Tim Beaty said that living in the city is becoming more expensive, and that the additions are focused on teacher retention.
“We were doing what we thought was best in order to keep the quality of what we’ve got,” Beaty said. “I’m frustrated that this leads to this huge difference between what we need and what’s available in the budget.”
City Council will adopt its final budget on May 1.
ALXnow will be running a series of City Council candidate interviews through the local election filing deadline on April 4.
The economic potential for the $2 billion Potomac Yard arena deal is maintaining the interest of Alexandria City Council Member Alyia Gaskins.
Gaskins is running for mayor and says that a good deal for Alexandria means more city representation on the Virginia Stadium Authority board, which would own and finance the future home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals.
Gaskins says that she’ll carefully dissect the proposal “if and when” it comes before City Council and that her four key issues are on the city’s representation on the Virginia Stadium Authority board, as well as how the project impacts labor, housing, and transportation.
“A good deal is one that has strong labor protections, a commitment to affordable housing and new transportation investments,” Gaskins told ALXnow. “It is also one in which we have the majority of authority on the, but the majority of seats on the stadium Authority Board.”
A House version of the bill to create the board was approved earlier this month, but the Senate version of the bill is currently stalled.
“As you know, I’m the one who’s going to be in the weeds going through each and every page to really evaluate what has come to us and is it something that’s going to deliver for Alexandria,” Gaskins said. “I can’t speculate now until I see specifically where we are on each of those areas, because I don’t think it works without all of them.”
On the issues
Gaskins said she had to take a pause and that she was disappointed after seeing the Alexandria School Board’s recent budget request. The Board asked for $21 million more than what was allocated from the city in last year’s budget, prompting an outcry from Mayor Justin Wilson, and a fiscal year 2025 budget proposal from the City Manager that does not include $10 million in additions from the School Board.
Gaskins said that City Council was briefed in the fall about a potential reduction in real estate values, and that the decline would mean a substantial revenue reduction in the city, potentially resulting in cuts to city services.
“I thought seeing then a budget that calls for such an addition at a time when we are facing some tough economic situations was really a little disappointing,” she said. “At the same time, we all are fighting for the same thing. We want our teachers to be the best paid, and to be the most supported in the region. We want our kids to have the greatest academic outcomes that they can achieve. Our two bodies will have to figure this out, starting tonight at our work session.”
Gaskins also said that the city needs to pause as it evaluates the second phase of its zoning for housing initiative. Last year, City Council controversially its upended its residential zoning policies by eliminating single family zoning. She said that the first phase focusing on housing production and that the city also needs to look at homeownership programs, tenant protections and preventing housing displacement should be refined.
“I don’t think we need to add anything else,” she said. “We need to focus on doing that and doing that well.”
On the double-digit Virginia American Water rate hikes, Gaskins said that she wants to get retroactive refunds for residents who may see their water bills significantly hiked.
“I think it’s excessive and it could be harmful to our residents,” Gaskins said of the increase. “The numbers I’ve seen show that if this rate goes through as planned, some of our residents could see upwards of a 50% increase in their bills.”
On public safety, Gaskins said that the citywide uptick in violent crime is “unacceptable,” and that the Alexandria Police Department needs to create a strategic plan that “clearly articulates” how it is being tackled. She also said that the recently released community crime map will help residents understand what’s happening.
“It’s not just uncomfortable, I think it’s unacceptable,” Gaskins said. “And I think that communication between our public safety professionals and our residents is an important piece of our crime prevention strategy that has to be strengthened.”
About Alyia Gaskins
Gaskins, who was elected to City Council in 2021, is running in the Democratic primary on June 18. She’s married with two young children and moved to the with her family from Fairfax County in 2016. She’s been a senior program officer at Melville Charitable Trust for three-and-a-half years, before which she worked as a a public health strategist with the Center for Community Investment and the National League of Cities.
She’s a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was raised by her single mother, Francine Smith, and her paternal grandmother Marilyn Parker. Gaskins said that her mom regularly worked two or three jobs at a time, mostly as a paraprofessional and librarian at Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Parker died last month, and Gaskins said that the loss has been difficult.
“It’s definitely been hard, because every big moment I can think of in my life, my grandma has been by my side,” she said. “I think the only kind of saving grace is she taught and she instilled in me a faith and a joy that surpasses understanding. And so when the days are hard, I can still smile because I know I know she’s with me.”
If elected, Gaskins will be the first Black female mayor of Alexandria.
“When I think about what it would mean to be the first Black female mayor, honestly, sometimes I can’t even put it into words, like it’s something that is overwhelming,” she said. “It’s something that is humbling, and it’s something that would fill me with tremendous joy.”
Gaskins has a bachelor’s degree in medicine, health and society from Vanderbilt University, a master’s in urban planning from Georgetown University, and a master’s of public health from the University of Pittsburgh and a certificate in municipal planning from the University of Chicago.
She was elected to City Council in 2021, and previously served on the city’s Transportation Commission, where she said that her experience with the Seminary Road bike lane controversy convinced her that the city needs to improve outreach to impacted communities.
Communication-wise, Gaskins said she had no notice from Mayor Justin Wilson when he announced he wasn’t seeking reelection on Dec. 1. She announced her intention to run on Dec. 4, as did her fellow Council Member Vice Mayor Amy Jackson.
“I had no special inside knowledge or anything like that,” Gaskins said. “What I watched over the past several months is what Justin has said, that he’s thinking about it and we’ll find out the decision. I thought to myself, I’m going to be ready no matter what that decision is. I want to be ready to run.”
Gaskins is leading in fundraising among her Council colleagues, raising $46,000 with $34,000 on-hand as of Dec. 31, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Jackson has raised $16,900, and has $15,800 on-hand. The next financial disclosure deadline for the candidates is at the end of this month.
Gaskins says that she gets four-to-five hours of sleep on a good day, and that her family is committed to seeing her conduct city business.
“What I do think I’ve been able to create in my life and will do as mayor is a harmony where I have found a way for all of the pieces to work together,” she said. “I recognize the demands that will be on my time, then it makes sense that will be on my family’s time. But this is something that we are fully committed to doing as our unit and making sure that as a unit we can serve and continue to deliver.”
The Democratic primary is June 18.
I'm running for Mayor to build an Alexandria that works for all of us. Watch, share, and join our grassroots campaign today! pic.twitter.com/hGf80NTjDV
— Alyia Gaskins (@Alyia4ALX) December 4, 2023
Join hosts Pat Miller & Gayle Reuter for a kid-friendly Meet & Greet in Del Ray with Alyia this Saturday, March 9th. RSVP at https://t.co/haTJBmQ3qX and let's discuss the future of our community together! #DelRay #MeetAndGreet pic.twitter.com/dW3PUzB3JA
— Alyia Gaskins (@Alyia4ALX) March 6, 2024
We've been loving the doors on the West End! Join us this Saturday morning at 9:00 to share Alyia's message of a safe, accessible, and affordable Alexandria. Sign up at https://t.co/lOZLj2DY0p. #everyweekendeverydoor pic.twitter.com/I6OfVIZE45
— Alyia Gaskins (@Alyia4ALX) March 5, 2024
One item in the city’s budget items will roll out across Alexandria streets throughout this year.
In a newsletter, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said the proposed FY 2024 budget includes $5.25 million for road repaving around Alexandria, with $64.6 million for the next decade.
This year’s road repaving budget is a slight increase over last year, which included $5.1 million for road repaving.
Streets are prioritized based on their Pavement Condition Inventory (PCI) score and staff coordinating with utility work and other projects, Wilson wrote.
Wilson said, if the paving funding is approved in the budget, the following Alexandria roads will be repaved over the next year:
As Alexandria’s City Council and School Board work to reconcile their budgets, Mayor Justin Wilson scolded School Board leadership for not taking a longer view of budgets and planning.
Alexandria’s School Board is asking for $21 million more than it received in the previous budget — for a total of $384.4 million — with School Board members adding $10 million in additions to Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt’s proposed budget. City Manager Jim Parajon fully funded the Superintendent’s budget, but did not include funding for the additional $11 million requested by the School Board.
The issue started with 1703 N. Beauregard, a swing space building to be used for George Mason and Cora Kelly students while those schools undergo renovation. But as the School Board asks the City Council for more funding to address capacity issues, Wilson said it’s frustrating not to see a longer term plan for what happens to that building after it’s finished as a swing space in 2029.
“I want to be able to tell people 1703 N. Beauregard is going to be swing space and then it’s going to be this, whatever this is,” Wilson said. “I saw from staff they say it’s going to be a middle school, you [School Board chair Michelle Rief] say it’s going to be Chance for Change, I hear from other board members it might be an elementary school.”
Wilson said that the City Council, which is dealing with its own budget woes, needs to see a clearer vision from the School Board as the two bodies collaborate on long-term planning.
“At some point, the Board needs to make a long-term set of decisions bout how we’re going to configure and align capacity,” Wilson said. “I recognize things are going to change and we need to evolve and adapt, but we need a direction. It can’t be nine people saying ‘maybe we will do this’ but we need to make decisions.”
Rief answered that the School Board is hesitant to plan too far in advance given how quickly some of the major issues can change.
“If you look back at 2019, we didn’t know the pandemic was going to hit,” said Rief. “We don’t know what’s going to happen with the arena deal. I remember back when we had this conversation in November, you were asking about how we plan after ten years… When you get beyond five to seven years it gets harder to plan. I think situations and circumstances change.”
Wilson called Rief’s answer “unacceptable”:
The answer that we can’t plan past five or seven years is not an acceptable for me. We have to. We have to figure that out.
These are generational investments. We are spending a generational amount of money. It takes us five to seven years in order to even plan and budget for a project of this size.
Think about how long Minnie Howard was in the plan. Think about how long Douglas MacArthur was in the plan. The MacArthur funding, which just opened, was a decision we made in 2016.
This stuff takes a long time. I agree that we have to be flexible and adapt and change, but we need to at least have a vision for what this is going to look like.
If you’re expecting us to raise billions over a period of time, we need the runway to be able to do that.
Battles between the two governing bodies, particularly over the budget, aren’t uncommon.
When it came to cost cutting, the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) said one of the biggest areas schools could cut is on “green building” initiatives. The tradeoff there, staff said, is that what’s gained in capital funding may be lost in long-term operating costs.
“The expectation is that we are meeting the City’s Green Building policy and Net Zero… we cannot do that with a $20 million reduction,” Kay-Wyatt said.
ACPS staff said geothermal wells could be removed from new schools, saving millions in capital costs, but it’s unclear how that would impact long-term operating costs.
While those cuts to the environmental efficiency of the buildings would still need to be studied and considered, City Council leadership said the top priority in those buildings needed to be on providing educational space.
“When we’re talking about schools and sustainability and green buildings and how much those things cost,” Vice Mayor Amy Jackson said, “I’ll be the other side right now and say: our education of our kids is really what the need is in these buildings; first and foremost.”
The City of Alexandria is fighting with residents over a new development in court, but the battle spilled over into a public comment section that ended with a rebuke from the dais.
A lawsuit filed with the Circuit Court of Alexandria calls for a special use permit approved by the City Council in January to be invalidated, alleging the decision is in direct contradiction to the city zoning ordinance.
The lawsuit was filed by seven nearby residents who allege that the new development at 301 N. Fairfax Street will devalue their properties and ’cause wear and tear and damage’ to infrastructure.
The property is currently an office building constructed in 1977 and the lawsuit notes that, prior to the City Council vote on Jan. 20, it was zoned as ‘commercial downtown’ in the Old and Historic District, rezoned in that meeting to commercial residential mixed use/high. The new development will be a residential building with 48 units.
The crux of the lawsuit is that the rezoning makes the property mixed-use — with a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 2.5 — but plans for the site indicate the use will be entirely residential — which has a maximum permitted FAR of 1.25
Section 5-305(C) provides under “mixed use or residential/SUP” that “if at least 50 percent of the floor space of the proposed development is for residential use and if the commercial use within such a development does not exceeed a floor area ratio of 1.25, then, with a special use permit, the maximum permitted floor area ratio may be increased to an amount not to exceed 2.5.” Zoning Ordinance 5-305(C).
Clearly referenced in this subsection is the mixed use of a proposed development, and the authorization of special use permits for up to 2.5 FAR where there is at least 50 percent residential use and “the commerical use” does not exceed a FAR of 1.25. Absent from that section is the language “a commercial use” or “any commercial use”.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the special use permit ‘void ab initio’ and “enjoin the City from issuing any permits for the 301 North Fairfax Project or from taking any further action pursuant to the SUP.
Even as the lawsuit is working through courts, Alexandria’s City Council voted on Saturday in favor of an ordinance to amend the Old Town Small Area Plan and to amend the Official Zoning Map to reflect the mixed-use zoning for 301 N. Fairfax Street.
It was a largely administrative follow-up to the earlier rezoning, but it drew some heated back-and-forth during the public comments.
Several nearby residents in opposition to the development spoke and expressed their frustration with the city’s rezoning of the parcel.
“Why have a City Council that continually ignores the concerns of your own constituents,” said nearby resident Anna Bergman. “You’re knowingly turning the Old and Historic District into the architectural banality that is North Old Town.”
“Most of you are on your phones, not even looking up, rolling your eyes,” said resident Nanci Petit. “How can you be so disconnected with what you’ve heard over eight months and others today wanting to stop the arena. The only thing I can come up with is a lack of oxygen because you have your head so far up the developer’s abacus worried about their profit margins that you can’t see straight.”
After attorney Cathy Puskar, representing the developer, spoke, several members of the audience hissed in response, sparking a reprimand from Mayor Justin Wilson and others on the City Council.
“Please, guys, literally come on,” said Wilson. “I spent like an hour with a bunch of preschoolers yesterday and they were better behaved than this.”
City Council member John Chapman was the lone vote against the zoning change in January and voted against the changes at the Saturday meeting, but also expressed frustration at the way members of the public spoke about City Council members and city staff.
“I do not take lightly the kind of personal attacks against the character of any member of this body,” Chapman said. “One of the more recent speakers spoke to why you might not see us looking up. I know the Council member on my right (Sarah Bagley) takes notes on everyone who speaks. She might not look up at you, she has notepad after notepad on each individual’s comments. We listen with our ears, that’s what we’re doing.”
The planning and map amendments were passed in a 6-1 vote.
James Cullum contributed to this story
Alexandria’s annual George Washington Birthday Parade brought the usual pomp and circumstance befitting the country’s first president.
This year’s parade marshals were the recipients of the prestigious Living Legends of Alexandria award. The theme of this year’s parade was “George Washington: Alexandria’s Living Legend.”
A number of political candidates marched (or rode) in the parade, including mayoral candidates Vice Mayor Amy Jackson and Alyia Gaskins, as well as Sheriff Sean Casey and Clerk of Court Greg Parks. City Manager Jim Parajon also marched, as did his counterpart in the school system, Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt. Former Mayor Allison Silberberg also marched in the parade with the “Coalition to Stop the Potomac Yard Arena.”
Alexandria’s next parade is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Old Town on Saturday, March 2.
Alexandria’s City Council unanimously approved releasing $657,629 to allow the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center to continue operating, but that doesn’t mean they’re happy about it.
Council was told that the detention center (200 S. Whiting Street) has seen a dramatic increase in usage over the last year, and that the center is pursuing a pilot program with National Capital Treatment & Recovery to introduce a substance abuse recovery program to the unit. They were also told that an unused portion of the facility was being studied for future use.
“I would say at least 50% of our children have experimented with fentanyl,” Johnitha McNair, the detention center’s executive director, told council. “It is highly addictive, so many of them come in with needs to have addiction and withdrawal and treatment services provided immediately.”
The fate of the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center has been uncertain for years. Last year, City Council placed the funds into a reserve account until city staff could provide recommendations that:
- Optimize capacity within Northern Virginia for Juvenile Secure Detention services
- Leverage available physical plant capacity for alternative uses
- Pursue new regional partnerships for use of facilities and staffing
Mike Mackey, director of the city’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Service unit, said that the center has reached its capacity of 46 youth over the past year. He also said that detention-eligible cases involving Alexandria youth increased 66% last year, and 100% involving Arlington youth.
“By comparison… in 2020 the average daily population was 12,” Mackey told Council. “In 2022 it was nine, and in this fiscal year the average daily population is 26. The center has seen the population go up to its capacity of 46. Today there are 38 youth 17 of whom are from Alexandria, 10 from Arlington.”
But Mayor Justin Wilson, before Tuesday’s vote to release the funds, chided Earl Conklin, chair of the detention center’s commission and Arlington’s director of court services, for not bringing concrete proposals on new programs and services at the facility to Council.
“Where’s the proposal?” Wilson asked. “If it requires capital investment, bring us something. I, for one, have been yelling asking for that for eight years, and all I hear is, ‘We have ideas. We’re talking about these ideas.’ Where’s a proposal? I mean seriously, if it requires some investment, if it requires something to drive that forward — help me help you — what are we not doing to make that happen?”
Conklin replied, “I think the primary message the board has gotten was of closing the (detention) center.”
“That’s not true,” Wilson interrupted. “Let me be crystal clear. As the one who has been the instigator on this, I have never said that this is about closing the facility. It has always been about how do we optimize the capacity that we have in the region, and whether that means consolidation in Alexandria, consolidation in other jurisdictions, repurposing part of the facility, whatever, it’s not been about closing the facility.”
The detention center is regulated by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice and overseen by the Juvenile Detention Commission, which is made up of two members from Arlington, one from Falls Church, and two from Alexandria. It first opened in 1958 and houses youth with serious offenses and behavioral issues from Alexandria, Arlington County and the City of Falls Church. The center saw a 72% reduction in the number of juveniles in the facility between 2006 and 2019, prompting a reduction of beds at the facility from 70 to 46 in 2016, according to a cost-benefit analysis by the Moss Group.
The facility is also home to an unlocked shelter for up to 14 at-risk children.
Deputy City Manager Yon Lambert told council that any proposed programming changes will be presented this fall. In the meantime, Lambert said that an assessment of the detention center will be submitted to the General Assembly in October.
“If we have any budget requests, then we can process it in the fall so that the staff and the (city) manager and council can determine if its viable,” Lambert said.
Vice Mayor Amy Jackson said that the facility needs to remain open.
“We need it now more than we ever did,” Jackson said. “The numbers were decreasing. and then here we are. They’re increasing again more than they have in years.”
(Updated 4:15 p.m.) Alexandria experienced a 12.4%, or $440 million, drop in office property values this year, according to the city’s Office of Real Estate Assessments, and it could mean a reduction in city services.
Alexandria’s real estate tax base grew by just .33% this year, about $200 million, for a total of $48.49 billion, which is the smallest growth in 15 years, Mayor Justin Wilson tweeted. The city’s commercial property tax rate fell 4%, or $736.9 million.
The value of the city’s office properties fell 12.38%, from $3.58 billion in 2023 to $3.14 billion in 2024, according to a city report that City Council will receive in a legislative meeting on Tuesday night (Feb. 13). It’s the second year in a row that office properties dipped in value, dropping 10% last year.
The assessments also mean that the value of Alexandria’s total residential tax base has once again outpaced its commercial tax base, with the city’s residential tax base this year increasing by 3%, or $871.3 million. The average value of a single-family home value increased by 2.33% to $962,276, and the average value of a condo in the city is $423,765, an increase of roughly 4% over last year.
“Over 90% of that growth is from new development and the rest from appreciation,” Wilson wrote.
Wilson tweeted that the decrease was in spite of $237 million in commercial growth, along with $161 million in residential multi-family development.
City Council member John Taylor Chapman says that the reduction in revenue will mean a lean fiscal year 2025 budget for City Manager Jim Parajon. His draft budget will be presented to the City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
“It means for this year’s budget that we’re gonna have to look at cuts around city services,” Chapman said. “We need to continue to press on how we deal with losses in the commercial, particularly the office building, sector. We’ve converted a number of old office buildings to residential, and I think that’s something that’s going to continue.”
A city report cited that the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic have made commercial real property a “considerable downside risk” for the city.
According to the report:
Commercial real estate is viewed as a more predictable investment asset, unlike stocks, bonds, and other paper assets which tend to be more volatile and react swiftly to economic sentiment. While commercial real estate performance is also sensitive to economic shifts, changes typically happen slowly. Since the pandemic, however, the commercial real property has demonstrated considerable downside risk. This is particularly evident in the office market where high vacancy, inflated tenant fit-up costs, and significant increases in capitalization rates have been detrimental to values.
Due to increased interest rates and continuing uncertainty in the market, there were few arm’s-length commercial sales transactions in 2023. However, those that did occur were adequate to judge market sentiment. Three large rental apartment projects, four office buildings, and approximately sixteen general commercial properties transferred in 2023. The transactions in all property classes were a mixture of performing assets, value-add, and buildings that involve a conversion in land use.
Parajon faced a $17 million budget shortfall when he started crafting last year’s budget, but it was wiped away by unexpectedly high real estate assessments and $4.6 million in citywide efficiency reductions.
This year, the city said that there were four sales of office buildings in 2023, and that many buildings are being repurposed into multi-family rental buildings or residential condominiums.
The following offices were converted to other uses in 2023:
- 801 N. Fairfax Street, converted into 54 condominium units
- 625 and 635 Slaters Lane, converted into 80 condominium units
- 4900 Seminary Road, converted into 212 multifamily rental units
The following office conversions have been proposed:
- 901 N Pitt Street
- Transpotomac Plaza, 1033 N. Fairfax Street
- 1101 King Street
More 2024 Alexandria Assessment Data:
Increases varied around the City
The average single-family home increased 2.33% to $962,276
The average condo home increased 3.96% to $423,765 pic.twitter.com/eVqnDzpQvo
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) February 7, 2024
More 2024 Alexandria Assessment Data:
The commercial tax base decreased by $736M.
This net decrease was in spite of $237M of new commercial growth, of which $161M was residential multi-family development (rental housing). pic.twitter.com/vTSRngRt0Q
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) February 7, 2024
Alexandria City Council members are crying foul over the proposed makeup of the Virginia Stadium Authority, which would finance construction of the $2 billion Potomac Yard arena and entertainment district.
Both the proposed Virginia House and Senate bills establishing the authority stipulate that the nine-member Virginia Stadium Authority board would be comprised of six members appointed by the governor and three from Alexandria.
That doesn’t sit well with the entire city Council, whose members say that the city needs a larger presence at the table.
Mayor Justin Wilson, Vice Mayor Amy Jackson and City Council Members Alyia Gaskins, Canek Aguirre, Kirk McPike, John Taylor Chapman, and Sarah Bagley all want more representation on the Virginia Stadium Authority. With North Potomac Yard poised to become the future home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, the development poses economic, transportation, public safety, housing and other challenges that directly impact the city.
“Given the bonds are backed 50/50 by the city and state, we believe the board composition should be even as well,” Wilson told ALXnow. “It’s the Authority that owns the arena, not the city.”
Wilson said that the city is conducting constant conversations with both houses of the state legislature regarding the bills. Virginia Senate Majority Leader Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36) introduced the senate version of the bill on Jan. 19, and is now pending in the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. That same day, House of Delegates Appropriations Chair Del. Luke E. Torian (D-52) introduced the house version of the bill, and it is now pending in the House Committee on Appropriations.
Surovell told ALXnow that there is wiggle room to change the bills, and that the legislation at this point is “far from final.”
In the meantime, residents against the proposal will protest outside the Potomac Yard Target store at 6 a.m. on Friday before embarking on a “lobbying and rally day” outside the General Assembly building in Richmond.
Jackson, who is running for mayor, says that the governor’s office should have no more than two seats on the board and that Arlington should not be represented for the North Potomac Yard proposal.
“Whatever the number ends up being, I believe the percentages/seats should allow Alexandria to have more representation,” Jackson told ALXnow. “That the ratio of House and Senate seats would still have close to even cast. That the Governor should have only one-to-two, and that Arlington should not have a seat at this table.”
McPike said in a town hall meeting late last month that he doesn’t “love that breakdown.”
“I would like to see our delegation to Richmond push for a five-four split, maybe even a four-five split,” he said.
The town hall was part of a three-month public engagement process that the city is currently undertaking to inform residents on the development.
McPike continued, “We want to be the ones to make this decision, not Richmond, that if this is going to happen or not happen, it needs to be because it fits or doesn’t fit the needs of the city.”
Aguirre told ALXnow that the Potomac Yard arena deal is “very fragile,” and that many potential pitfalls spell trouble. He said that the Authority should be made up of representatives from the state legislature, the governor’s office and the city.
“That’s a non starter for me, the way it’s written right now,” Aguirre said of the bills. “I mean, six appointments for the governor, three for the city. That doesn’t fly with me.”
Aguirre spoke with us after announcing his reelection campaign to the Alexandria Democratic Committee on Monday. He said that the deal is an overall positive for the city, but that it has to make financial sense.
“We can’t be stuck holding a bag with a bunch of debt,” Aguirre said. “I think that’s there’s still some questions around that. I just want to say this deal is very fragile. There’s a lot of different pitfalls.”
Chapman said that there should be an evenly split board, and that council members should serve on it.
“I believe the composition of the Board should be even,” he told ALXnow.
Bagley says that Alexandria is a partner in the venture and “any potential authority composition should reflect that partnership.”
Gaskins, who is also running for mayor, said that the Virginia Stadium Authority board should have five members from Alexandria.
“Alexandrians will be the people most directly impacted by this project and it is important that it is reflected in the makeup of the board,” she told ALXnow. “I believe that Alexandria should have majority representation with five seats.”
Gaskins added that the city’s representatives on the board should reflect a diversity of opinions.
“As such, I think it would be helpful to have a combination of people, including community members, small business leaders and council or city government officials,” she said.
According to the legislation’s summary:
Establishes the Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority as a political subdivision charged with financing the construction of a sports and entertainment campus. The Authority is composed of nine members, six of whom are appointed by the Governor and three of whom are appointed by the governing body of the City of Alexandria. Each appointed member is subject to specific criteria for appointment. The bill entitles the Authority to the following revenues: (i) sales tax revenues from construction and transactions on the campus, defined in the bill, but certain revenues that current law dedicates to transportation and education are excluded; (ii) all pass-through entity tax revenues and corporate income tax revenues from income generated by the company, defined in the bill, or any professional sports team or any affiliates as well as in the development and construction of the campus; and (iii) all personal income tax revenues from income generated through employment and business activity on the campus. It also authorizes the City of Alexandria to appropriate tax revenues to the Authority.
The revenues shall be deposited in the Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority Financing Fund, created in the bill, from which the Authority will deposit revenues into priority accounts for Authority revenues, debt service, subordinate debt service, reserves, and capital expenditures and maintenance. If the Authority determines that all such accounts are sufficiently funded, the bill directs the Authority to issue the excess to the Commonwealth and the City of Alexandria if so provided for in any bond or financing agreements.
