Residents Petition for Action on Eisenhower West

Alexandria citizen activist Don Buch is happy to talk about the need for an Eisenhower West Small Area Plan—and his frustration with city government over its inaction on the West End neighborhood.

That “neighborhood” is home to mainly commercial interests, including the Covanta Waste-to-Energy facility, Virginia Paving, Vulcan Materials and Norfolk Southern’s ethanol transloading facility. Warehouses take up much of the remaining space. The area does contain a few residential developments, including townhouses near the Van Dorn Street Metro station, Summers Grove and The Reserve at Eisenhower.

But without a plan for the area, development comes in a piecemeal fashion, with few amenities for residents and visitors.

“They’re saying, we would do things, but we’re constrained,” Buch said. “People at the Victory Center say, ‘Where do we go for lunch around here?’ It’s all car body shops and warehouses. If we get this going, we could dramatically increase the commercial tax base for the rest of the city.”

Buch, president of the nearby Cameron Station Civic Association, and local residents have launched an online petition asking the city to make the Eisenhower West plan a top priority. According to the petition, the small area plan has met continually delays for more than 10 years, and development along Eisenhower Avenue continues to languish expect for light industrial uses such as auto body shops and storage facilities.

The petition states, “The Alexandria City Council is urged to immediately commence a dialogue with West End property owners and potential developers to expeditiously move forward with and complete the Eisenhower West Small Area Plan without further delay.”

The boundaries of the area are somewhat fluid and would ultimately be decided by residents during the small area plan process, said Karl Moritz, a deputy director in the city’s Department of Planning and Zoning. But the area would generally encompass Eisenhower Avenue from Holmes Run to the east, Backlick Run to the north, the Fairfax County line on the west and the Alexandria city line to the south.

Depending on feedback from the community, the plan could also incorporate portions of South Pickett Street.

Moritz said plans to create a plan to redevelop the area first surfaced officially with the city’s “Plan for Planning” document, approved in 2001. The plan called for a series of small area plans, including one for Eisenhower West, which remains one of the few small area plans yet to be developed.

“We’ve been working on other plans,” Moritz said. “We’ve been making progress on the ‘Plan for Planning’ ever since, so we’ve had one or sometimes two plans during the process, so it’s been a matter of priority.”

Alexandria City Council is slated to consider a long range planning work program at its May 28 meeting. One of the main decision points is which small area plan to commence next. One is Eisenhower West, the other is North Old Town.

It appears North Old Town has the advantage. That’s where developers have shown more interest in new developments and redevelopment, Moritz said, giving that area a leg up over Eisenhower West.

On Eisenhower West, Moritz said, “While there is some landowner interest in having the plan completed, there are no specific proposals for redevelopment.”

Once the Eisenhower West Small Area Plan process begins, a vision for the area will be determined by residents and city staff.

Buch started his petition after he got word another auto body shop is moving into the South Pickett Street area. He claims attorneys from McGuireWoods, which has clients in the area, have offered to chip in toward the cost of a small area plan study.

The petition has been signed by about 90 people to date, and Buch is continuing his outreach to local civic and neighborhood associations.