Alexandria residents press council to keep pump station out of Waterfront Park

Dozens of residents told the Alexandria City Council they oppose siting a flood‑mitigation pump station in Waterfront Park and urged officials to fully compare alternatives before making an irreversible decision.

Mark Bendick Jr., who identified himself as an economist and Alexandria resident, told the council the project team’s current cost calculations cover only site acquisition and construction and "ignore losses in the tax revenues that waterfront silently, but importantly underpins." He said his own preliminary calculations suggest those uncounted costs would "total substantially more than $10,000,000 each year after construction." Bendick urged a pause so staff can present a comprehensive fiscal comparison between the in‑park option and alternatives such as 1 Prince Street.

Several other speakers echoed that call. Mary Lou Egan, who said she serves on the Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission, urged the council to seek missing information now rather than assume the park is "free" as a site and to consider a public‑private partnership to reduce acquisition costs. Robert Griffiths and neighborhood associations urged adaptive reuse of vacant commercial buildings — for example 1 Prince Street or 110 South Union Street — arguing that out‑of‑park options would meet flood‑mitigation needs while preserving open space and the waterfront experience.

Residents and HOA leaders also raised legal and planning constraints. Hillary Zimmerman pointed to deed language that, she said, restricts Waterfront Park to open public park uses and argued that meeting a height restriction does not automatically permit a new utilitarian building in the parcel.

Council members and staff acknowledged the concerns and said they are continuing outreach. Mayor Gaskins told speakers staff are working on additional alternatives and community engagement and that "the earliest, if at all, we are taking this up would be in late November." Vice Mayor Bagley and others asked staff to report back with parking and circulation plans, signage and options to mitigate impacts if pedestrianization or other changes move forward.

No formal council action was taken on the park location at this meeting. Council members and speakers agreed to continue the conversation and requested more detailed fiscal and design comparisons of the park option versus outside‑park alternatives.