[Archived] Virginia Downtown Development Association to Honor Alexandria Mayor With Leadership Award

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

Virginia Downtown Development Association to Honor
Alexandria Mayor With Leadership Award

City of Alexandria Mayor Kerry J. Donley, Chairman of the Board of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, Inc., will be recognized in a ceremony this week by the Virginia Downtown Development Association (VDDA) for his leadership in the redevelopment efforts of Upper Potomac West. The award will be presented to Mayor Donley at the VDDA “Breakfast of Champions,” part of their Vibrant Downtowns Annual Conference, this Friday, May 10, 2002. The conference is being held in Lynchburg, VA.

The VDDA Award of Excellence recognizes outstanding commitment and leadership from a locally elected government official who has demonstrated a philosophical commitment to long-term downtown revitalization as evidenced by an active involvement in revitalization organizations, and the development of local policy and regulatory initiatives. Leaders of communities under and more than 50,000 are honored.

Mayor Donley has been pivotal in his commitment to one of Alexandria’s original commercial districts, and northern Virginia’s only state-sponsored enterprise zone, the Upper Potomac West neighborhood. The area, which today serves a large Hispanic population, is characterized by the abandoned buildings that line its streets. An old Safeway grocery store is boarded up on a prominent corner and a ten-story building, one of the tallest in the surrounding area, sits vacant and dormant.

The Mayor led the effort to create the Upper Potomac West Task Force. The Task Force, charged with creating an economically viable, pedestrian friendly, well-maintained, and affordable neighborhood, was assisted by a group of architecture students from Virginia Tech Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center.

The Task Force presented a plan that outlined a comprehensive vision for the neighborhood on June 26, 2001, including a summary of present-day economic conditions, recommended physical improvements, and a plan of action that will ultimately serve to improve the neighborhood, without sacrificing the vibrancy and diversity of its multi-cultural residents.

Numerous neighborhood improvements have been accomplished under the auspices of the Task Force. An abandoned grocery store has been purchased by a developer and leased to strong, independent tenants who will well serve the neighborhood, including a Chinese buffet and a market. An abandoned office building, which will take two years to renovate, is under contract with another developer who is presently in negotiations for use of the entire building. A blighted strip shopping center in the neighborhood’s main corridor is undergoing a major renovation, and the center’s developer has signed deals with a national sandwich shop, and is in negotiations with a number of prospective tenants. A new “neighborhood center” opened two years ago and is fully leased and a third main street retail section is under contract to a local developer who plans to renovate the entire one and one-half block area. Finally, AEDP is conducting an analysis of the existing retail market, and identifying market potentials for the area.

VDDA is the state-level arm of the national Main Street Program, sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which works with communities across the nation to revitalize their historic or traditional commercial areas and Main Streets.

The Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, Inc. is a public/private partnership that plans, directs, manages and implements efforts to attract, expand, and retain business operations in the City of Alexandria. AEDP has worked since 1981 as a facilitator to establish Alexandria as a nationally recognized community and business center. AEDP is located at 1729 King St, Suite 410, Alexandria, VA 22314. AEDP can be contacted at 703.739.3820, or alexecon@erols.com.

For additional information on the award, contact Marc N. Brambrut, Economic Development and Marketing Specialist, AEDP, at 703.739.3820. For more information about the VDDA conference, call 540.231.5182.

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