City Reviewing Design to Resolve Flooding in Historic Old Town Alexandria

Before long, the peaceful atmosphere of Old Town Alexandria's Waterfront Park and Point Lumley Park will be disturbed.

Both theme parks are scheduled to shut down sometime during the summer or fall of 2026 for a minimum of two years as part of a renovation plan. effort to mitigate flooding .

Floods along the water's edge have become an everyday reality for entrepreneurs such as Bennett Moore.

His store, Big Wheel Bikes, located close to the parks, is constructed three feet above the ground to prevent floodwater from inundating it during heavy rains, as the Potomac River frequently overflows its banks.

"During hurricanes or heavy rainfall, we need to secure everything," Moore stated.

Nevertheless, he remains concerned about Alexandria's Waterfront Flood Mitigation Project, designed to enhance the floodwall structures and introduce a mechanism for channeling floodwaters back into the river. He worries this initiative might initially cause more damage before effectively addressing the issue.

I believe this will be detrimental to business in this area," stated Moore. "The restaurants and those hardworking men will likely face difficulties.

The building project will significantly impact parking, traffic, local businesses, and pedestrian flow. This wouldn’t be beneficial for us.

The project design was presented to Alexandria's Board for Architectural Review on Wednesday evening.

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The city refrained from commenting, however, based on their long-standing plans developed more than ten years ago, they are confident that this $145 million initiative will provide greater accessibility to facilities and ultimately resolve a longstanding problem.

Outreach meetings will take place before the project review scheduled for June 4.

The initiative will once more come under consideration at the subsequent city council gathering; however, no actions are anticipated.