There is an existing Potomac Yard Metro reservation, but the Potomac Yard Planning Advisory Group (PYPAG) discussed alternative locations at a past meeting. I snagged the image from Alexandria Planning and Zoning (original PDF here). The proposed location indicated by the big red circle directly in the middle of the current Potomac Yard shopping center would be an underground location. Undergrounding the station would be a more costly alternative (an estimate from a member of the PYPAG was 2-3 times as much as another station), but it would maximize the density around the station with redevelopment of Landbay F (current shopping center). Proposed density in Landbay F will be similar to Landbay G (south of Landbay F, adjacent to the initial Metro reservation), but the reservation would be across the tracks from the development. Development under Landbay F would allow more integration with the neighborhood, shorter walks to Metro for more people, and possibly more connection to the proposed Route 1 Streetcar or Bus Rapid Transit corridor (GGW discusses those plans here).
The underground station would be a 0.7 mile (about 13 minute walk) from the Birchmere the potential redeveloped Safeway/Datatel site. No hop, skip, and jump, but certainly closer than the 1 mile walk from the same starting point to the current metro reservation.
2 comments:
I don't think the Birchmere should factor into the decision in any way shape or form. It's just a box tucked behind an Autozone. They could relocate their operations anywhere including one of the many big box stores closing these days. But otherwise I agree with your premise.
The Birchmere is a vital part of the Arlandria community, so from this blog's perspective, it's a major concern. Moving it to some abandoned big-box store would be detrimental to the redevelopment efforts in our community. I agree with you that the Metro decision should have little to do with that, but if the Safeway/Datatel site is redeveloped, there could a a dense new multi-use development that will be impacted by the Metro location.
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