Potomac Yard (WMATA station)
Encyclopedia
Potomac Yard is a planned island platform
ed Washington Metro
station
in Alexandria
, Virginia
, United States
. Construction of the station is projected to commence in 2014 and it is scheduled to open in 2016. Potomac Yard station will be operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA), providing service for both the Blue
and Yellow
Lines. The station will be located at Alexandria's planned 7500000 square feet (696,772.8 m²) Potomac Yard
mixed-use development
bounded by the Jefferson Davis Highway
(U.S. Route 1
) and the George Washington Memorial Parkway
. Upon its completion, Potomac Yard will be only the second infill station to be added to the Washington Metro system. (The system's first infill station was the NoMa – Gallaudet University station which opened on the Red Line
in 2004).
In June 2008, Alexandria's Planning Commission approved higher-density projects at a town center near the proposed Potomac Yard station site. The first official public meeting on the prospect of the Potomac Yard station was held on 19 February 2009 between Alexandria city officials and the Metrorail Station Feasibility Work Group in Alexandria City Hall
.
On 12 June 2010, the Alexandria City Council voted to rezone
the 69-acre North Potomac Yard area in an effort to convert the 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) big-box
Potomac Yard Shopping Center into a 7500000 square feet (696,772.8 m²) mixed-use development
centered around the proposed station. Prior to the construction of the Potomac Yard station, the rezoning of North Potomac Yard will allow for 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²) of new development with the second phase to allow for 3700000 square feet (343,741.2 m²) of development during the station's construction. Once the station is operational, the development's final build-out will take place.
On 18 December 2010, the Alexandria City Council unanimously
approved a package that funded a large portion of the construction and operations of the proposed Potomac Yard station through the creation of the city's first special tax district. In order to fund the proposed $240 million construction cost of the Potomac Yard station, the Alexandria City Council approved a 20-cent special tax district for the Potomac Yard development. The projected cost to build the Potomac Yard station and the debt servicing
paid over a 30-year period will be approximately $500 million. The 20-cent special tax district approved by the council is scheduled to take effect 1 January 2011 on developments within Potomac Yard and will generate about $500,000 a year in new tax revenues. The revenue from the tax district will be added to developer contributions and a soft tax increment financing area to pay bond debt financing
over a 30 year period.
A second tax district within Alexandria's Potomac Greens neighborhood had been proposed by the Alexandria City Council to aid in funding the Potomac Yard station's construction cost. Residents within the proposed tax district would have been taxed (after the station opened) 10 cents per $100 of assessed property value, generating approximately $185,000 a year. Alexandria city officials removed Potomac Greens from the second tax district in May 2011.
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
ed Washington Metro
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
station
Metro station
A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....
in Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Construction of the station is projected to commence in 2014 and it is scheduled to open in 2016. Potomac Yard station will be operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...
(WMATA), providing service for both the Blue
Blue Line (Washington Metro)
The Blue Line of the Washington Metro in the United States consists of 27 rapid transit stations from Franconia–Springfield to Largo Town Center. It has stations in Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Prince George's County, Maryland...
and Yellow
Yellow Line (Washington Metro)
The Yellow Line of the Washington Metro consists of 17 rapid transit stations from Huntington to Fort Totten. The line terminates at the Mount Vernon Square station during peak hours.Peak hours are 5 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Service is extended to the Green Line stations during...
Lines. The station will be located at Alexandria's planned 7500000 square feet (696,772.8 m²) Potomac Yard
Potomac Yard
Potomac Yard was one of the busiest rail yards on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Today, it refers to the neighborhood encompassing the same, which straddles southeastern Arlington County and northern Alexandria, Virginia, bounded by U.S. Route 1, the George Washington Memorial Parkway,...
mixed-use development
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
bounded by the Jefferson Davis Highway
Jefferson Davis Highway
The Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway was a planned transcontinental highway in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s that began in Washington, D.C. and extended south and west to San Diego, California; it was named for Jefferson Davis, who, in addition to being the first and only President of...
(U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs 2,377 miles from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border south to Key West, Florida. U.S. 1 generally parallels Interstate 95, though it is significantly farther west between...
) and the George Washington Memorial Parkway
George Washington Memorial Parkway
The George Washington Memorial Parkway, known to local motorists simply as the "G.W. Parkway", is a parkway maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. It is located mostly in Northern Virginia, although a short section northwest of the Arlington Memorial Bridge passes over Columbia Island,...
. Upon its completion, Potomac Yard will be only the second infill station to be added to the Washington Metro system. (The system's first infill station was the NoMa – Gallaudet University station which opened on the Red Line
Red Line (Washington Metro)
The Red Line of the Washington Metro is a rail rapid transit service operating between 27 stations in Montgomery County, Maryland and the District of Columbia, United States. It is a primary line through downtown Washington, and the oldest and busiest line in the system...
in 2004).
Background
Plans to construct a Washington Metro station between the Braddock Road and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport stations on the Blue and Yellow Lines have been proposed since the 300-acre Potomac Yard retail and residential redevelopment began in the late 1990s with the construction of the Potomac Yard Shopping Center. The area of Metrorail at Potomac Yard was originally constructed in a way to allow for a future station.In June 2008, Alexandria's Planning Commission approved higher-density projects at a town center near the proposed Potomac Yard station site. The first official public meeting on the prospect of the Potomac Yard station was held on 19 February 2009 between Alexandria city officials and the Metrorail Station Feasibility Work Group in Alexandria City Hall
Alexandria City Hall
The Alexandria City Hall also known as the Alexandria Market House & City Hall, in Alexandria, Virginia, is a building built in 1871 and designed by Adolph Cluss. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The site was originally a market from 1749 and courthouse from...
.
On 12 June 2010, the Alexandria City Council voted to rezone
Zoning in the United States
Zoning in the United States comprise land use state laws falling under the police power rights that State governments and local governments have the authority to exercise over privately owned real property.-Origins and history:...
the 69-acre North Potomac Yard area in an effort to convert the 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) big-box
Big-box store
A big-box store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store...
Potomac Yard Shopping Center into a 7500000 square feet (696,772.8 m²) mixed-use development
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
centered around the proposed station. Prior to the construction of the Potomac Yard station, the rezoning of North Potomac Yard will allow for 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²) of new development with the second phase to allow for 3700000 square feet (343,741.2 m²) of development during the station's construction. Once the station is operational, the development's final build-out will take place.
Estimated costs and financing
The estimation of costs for the construction of the Potomac Yard station increased from $150 million in February 2009 to a cost of $240 million in December 2010. Funding for the station's construction costs is to be partly provided by the city of Alexandria and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority with the bulk of the funding coming from property owners in close proximity to the station. CPYR, the owner of the Potomac Yard Shopping Center, will contribute $81 million, and the city Alexandria will float about $275 million in bonds to pay for its portion. The addition of the station to the Blue and Yellow Lines will cost roughly $500,000 in fiscal 2010 dollars to operate annually. Alexandria city officials proposed two special tax districts that would supplement developer CPYR's contributions and tax increment financing to cover the cost of the $240 million Metro station and its debt service, totaling an estimated $496.6 million.On 18 December 2010, the Alexandria City Council unanimously
Unanimity
Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. When unanimous, everybody is of the same mind and acting together as one. Though unlike uniformity, it does not constitute absolute agreement. Many groups consider unanimous decisions a sign of agreement, solidarity, and unity...
approved a package that funded a large portion of the construction and operations of the proposed Potomac Yard station through the creation of the city's first special tax district. In order to fund the proposed $240 million construction cost of the Potomac Yard station, the Alexandria City Council approved a 20-cent special tax district for the Potomac Yard development. The projected cost to build the Potomac Yard station and the debt servicing
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
paid over a 30-year period will be approximately $500 million. The 20-cent special tax district approved by the council is scheduled to take effect 1 January 2011 on developments within Potomac Yard and will generate about $500,000 a year in new tax revenues. The revenue from the tax district will be added to developer contributions and a soft tax increment financing area to pay bond debt financing
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
over a 30 year period.
A second tax district within Alexandria's Potomac Greens neighborhood had been proposed by the Alexandria City Council to aid in funding the Potomac Yard station's construction cost. Residents within the proposed tax district would have been taxed (after the station opened) 10 cents per $100 of assessed property value, generating approximately $185,000 a year. Alexandria city officials removed Potomac Greens from the second tax district in May 2011.
External links
- Potomac Yard Metrorail Station Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
- Potomac Yard Metrorail Station Feasibility Work Group
- Potomac Yard Planning Advisory Group
- Potomac Yard Metrorail Station TIIF Allocation (February 26, 2009)
- Final Potomac Yard Metrorail Station Concept Development Study (February 3, 2010)