Alexandria officials review City Hall renovation, Market Square redesign and parking options

City staff presented a detailed update to the Alexandria City Council on a proposed multi-year renovation of City Hall, Market Square and the adjacent parking garage, focusing on preserving historic elements while improving accessibility, safety and public programming.

The project presentation was led by Jeremy McPike, director of general services, who told the council the city is in a discovery phase and has conducted “between 45 to 50 different public engagements” since last September. McPike said the building and garage show “a lot of crumbling concrete rebar” and water infiltration; staff have been doing 3D scans, video inspections and limited invasive investigations to better define scope before final design.

Why it matters: the renovation would be the next generational investment in City Hall infrastructure and affect Market Square programming, the adjacent garage, and how residents and visitors access the building. Council members pressed staff about event capacity, pedestrian interactions with transit, public-safety sightlines and the potential for City Hall to serve as an emergency facility for Old Town.

Principal elements and staff descriptions - Market Square: design moves away from a single large “playful” fountain to a more linear arrangement of PopJets and a promenade to preserve vendor flow for the farmers market and allow seasonal events. McPike said the revised plan retains ground-level water features and adds shaded seating areas and universal access ramps. - Façade and historic elements: staff propose glass interventions to reveal portions of the older (Latrobe) tower and to clarify the King Street entrance. McPike noted an architectural debate over retaining 1960s chimneys versus emphasizing the Latrobe Tower; the chimneys’ removal is under active review with the Board of Architectural Review and historic stakeholders. - Interior reconfiguration: moving the elevator core deeper into the building would open a two‑story atrium that exposes historic structure, improve wayfinding, and allow a visible visitor/information desk. Staff proposed a reoriented council chamber with slightly elevated seating and a Fifth Floor civic/event space with city views. - Parking garage: staff said engineering work is exploring whether 30–40 additional spaces could be gained by re‑spacing and lowering grade near King Street while avoiding sensitive foundations under the historic structure. - Public amenities: the design includes accessible public restrooms (with adult changing tables) adjacent to Market Square and relocatable seating to increase flexibility for events. Staff said the city would “lead by example” by phasing out gas leaf‑blowers in city operations sooner than the public phase‑out (discussed separately during the meeting).

Council questions and staff responses Council members asked about capacity for large events and vendors; McPike said removing the existing central pool actually increases usable plaza area and allows better vendor layouts on farmers‑market days. On safety and security, staff said opening the lobby and clarifying entrances improves visibility and would make it easier to stage visitor screening from inside the building rather than closing external doors. On emergency sheltering, staff said the project has not yet scoped generator or sheltering capacity and that emergency‑management staff are separately reviewing city shelter locations.

Costs, schedule and next steps Staff described the work as reaching concept‑level design; they said the team expects to submit Concept 2 to the Board of Architectural Review and the Planning Commission in June and return to council with summarized findings after those reviews. McPike repeatedly emphasized the investigation phase — “we still don't know it all” — and that more exploratory work will be necessary before construction. He said the program has produced extensive community input and emphasized longer‑term investments such as geothermal and durable materials.

What was decided The presentation was informational. Council did not take a vote to approve final design tonight; councilmembers asked staff to continue outreach and detail engineering for garage capacity, safety sightlines, accessibility, and potential interim programming and communication strategies during construction.

Ending note Staff said the project will be multi‑year and may require temporary relocations for the farmers market and some city offices; they described an interim plan to use nearby Tavern Square and North Royal Street during construction and noted budget and procurement decisions will follow design completion.