Waterfront Park | ALXnow

Commission for the Arts approves ‘Now or Never’ Site See concept for waterfront

Published September 17, 2025 at 2:24PM

"Now or Never" public art design from the artist's presentation (via Alexandria's Office of the Arts)

The Alexandria Commission for the Arts unanimously approved artist Alicia Eggert‘s concept for “Site See 2026: Now or Never” Tuesday evening, giving the green light to the eighth temporary public art installation in the Site See: New Views in Old Town series at Waterfront Park.

The installation, planned from March through November 2026, aims to address the current political climate through monumental signage. It features two billboards positioned face-to-face across a narrow passageway. One billboard displays “NOW” in black text on a white background, while the other shows “NEVER” in white text on a black background.

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Alexandria reduces footprint of controversial waterfront pump station

By Ryan Belmore

Published September 8, 2025 at 9:48AM | Updated September 8, 2025 at 11:43AM

Waterfront Pump Station (Credit: City of Alexandria)

The City of Alexandria announced preliminary progress on reducing the size of its controversial waterfront pump station, responding to months of community pushback against flood mitigation infrastructure planned for Waterfront Park.

In a design update posted Sept. 3, project officials said they anticipate reducing the building’s length by approximately 18 to 22 feet, with potential total structure reductions of about 55 feet if the building canopy is eliminated entirely from the design.

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Petition launched against pump station construction at Waterfront Park

By James Cullum

Published July 18, 2025 at 2:30PM

Rendering of the pump station at Waterfront Park in Old Town at night, seen here looking east down Prince Street (via City of Alexandria)

A new petition has been launched against part of Alexandria’s plan to combat flooding in Old Town.

The Change.org petition opposing the installation of a two-story pump station at Waterfront Park to recirculate floodwaters back to the Potomac River has garnered 275 signatures so far. The organizer wrote in the petition that the pump station “is destructive, unnecessary, wasteful, and in violation of public trust.”

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published May 30, 2025 at 3:30PM | Updated May 31, 2025 at 12:49AM

Alexandria City High School's graduation at George Mason University's EagleBank Arena, May 28, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

What a week we just had in Alexandria!

Here’s our recap of everything worth talking and reading about over the past week in the Port City. This week, Alexandria was named a Sanctuary Jurisdiction by the Trump administration, a distinction Mayor Alyia Gaskins said “wrongly targets and mischaracterizes Alexandria and dismisses core principles that make up the foundation of our democracy.”

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Alexandria’s 47th Annual Jazz Festival set for June 14 at Waterfront Park

By Ryan Belmore

Published May 27, 2025 at 1:30PM

ALX Jazz Festival (via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria’s 47th Annual Jazz Festival is coming to Waterfront Park on Saturday, June 14. Starting at 3 p.m., this free event will feature a diverse range of talented musicians and jazz styles.

Keanna Faircloth will host the festival, introducing performances by The JoGo Project, Jeanette Berry, We Were Here Before, Fran Vielma Quartet, Carolyn Malachi, and Warren Wolf.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published May 23, 2025 at 3:30PM | Updated May 23, 2025 at 5:03PM

Dominion Energy Power Outage Map on Friday, May 16 (screenshot)

It was a fast week in Alexandria! Welcome to ALXnow’s Friday recap of top stories.

This week started as the city cleaned up from last Friday’s damaging storm that knocked over trees, closed roads and disrupted power for thousands. Our top story was on the report of a suspected car thief who ended up in the hospital with serious injuries after a high-speed chase ended in a crash early Monday morning.

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PLANS: Take a look at the renderings of the proposed pump station at Waterfront Park

By James Cullum

Published May 19, 2025 at 10:00AM

Rendering of the pump station at Waterfront Park in Old Town at night, seen here looking east down Prince Street (via City of Alexandria)

A covered patio and plaza venue are planned for the proposed pump station at Alexandria’s Waterfront Park.

The city’s proposal to combat flooding in Old Town will close Waterfront Park and Point Lumley Park from the fall of 2026 until the fall of 2028 to rebuild segments of the sea wall and install a pump station to recirculate water in flood-prone areas back to the Potomac River. The pump station plans are heading to the Board of Architectural Review on June 5.

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Notes: Alexandria residents invited to meet 2026 ‘Site See’ artist, shape waterfront art installation

By ALXnow.com

Published May 15, 2025 at 8:15AM

Alicia Eggert (via aliciaeggert.com)

Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!

⛈️ Today’s weather: Scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 5 p.m. Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 80 degrees. Southwest wind 3 to 5 mph. The chance of precipitation is 40%.

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City to unveil new Waterfront Flood Mitigation Project designs at public meetings

By ALXnow.com

Published May 2, 2025 at 12:30PM

A rendering of a fully built-out Point Lumley Park along the Alexandria waterfront in Old Town (via City of Alexandria)

City officials are preparing to showcase updated designs for the ongoing Waterfront Flood Mitigation Project at a series of public meetings scheduled throughout May and June.

Residents will have multiple opportunities to view and learn about the latest plans for protecting key areas, including Point Lumley Park, Waterfront Park, and the King Street waterfront area, starting with a presentation to the Board of Architectural Review on May 7th.

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City to honor $2.5 million bequest to build botanical garden at Point Lumley Park

By James Cullum

Published April 25, 2025 at 1:00PM

Sign indicating the future site of the Point Lumley Garden on the waterfront in Old Town (via City of Alexandria)

The City of Alexandria wants Betsey and H.J. Rosenbaum to know that there will still be a botanical garden built in their honor at Point Lumley Park, despite not being included in site concept plans.

The Rosenbaum family has lived near the waterfront for decades, and several years ago, the couple bequeathed $2.5 million to the city to build the garden at the park. They were surprised, however, when they saw new concept designs published by ALXnow that didn’t include a botanical garden. The plans are headed to the city’s Board of Architectural Review on May 7.

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See the Point Lumley Park site plans heading to the Board of Architectural Review

By James Cullum

Published April 22, 2025 at 12:30PM

A rendering of a fully built-out Point Lumley Park along the Alexandria waterfront in Old Town (via City of Alexandria)

Redevelopment plans for Point Lumley Park on the Alexandria waterfront are heading to the Board of Architectural Review.

The BAR will review the first concept for a reimagined Point Lumley Park at its meeting on Wednesday, May 7. The city plans to close Point Lumley Park and Waterfront Park from fall 2026 to fall 2028 to rebuild segments of the seawall.