According to the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, a public/ private partnership between city and business, annual retail sales in the City of Alexandria exceed $2 billion. The city has over 2.8 million square feet in retail shopping establishments and a retail vacancy rate of approximately 5 percent. More than 2 million domestic and international tourists visit Alexandria every year, and to meet these needs, there are 24 hotels with over 4,300 rooms in the city.

In 2000, The City of Alexandria had a population of 128,283 with a median household income of $78,800, ranking as the seventh most educated jurisdiction in the United States. Its daytime workforce exceeds 90,000 people.

Alexandria's most prominent feature, according to Robert Kaufman, president of PMA Properties, is Old Town, an area 16 blocks wide and 18 blocks long. It runs from the river to one of the metro stations. The Old Town retail market consists of buildings that range from 1,000 square feet to 6,000 square feet. "As a result, most of Old Town Alexandria consists of small family businesses," says Kaufman. Over the past few years, however, he says that this market has developed enough to attract national firms such as Gap, Banana Republic, Crown Books, Elizabeth Arden, Nine West Shoes, Trader Joes, Sutton Gourmet, Starbucks and Ann Taylor to the Old Town retail market.

Until a few years ago, according to Kaufman, rail yards were located in an area known as Potomac Yards in northern Alexandria. "Potomac Yards was touted as the largest tract of undeveloped urban land on the east coast," says Kaufman. It is now a 587,000-square-foot strip mall. The retail shopping area and movie theaters were the first phase of the Potomac Yards development. The project has attracted many national retailers, including Target, Barnes and Noble, Staples, Old Navy, Shoppers Food Warehouse and a recent 3,200-square-foot pad site development by Baskin Robbins, Togos and Dunkin' Donuts. Thomasville Furniture also recently signed a lease for 7,500 square feet and Zainy Brainy signed one for 10,000 square feet in the area. There have also been approximately 2,000 rental and condominium units added to date. Approximately 1,000,000 square feet of office construction is also being planned and over 5,000 single family, townhouse and apartment units will be built. "When completed, this strip will connect the Alexandria and Arlington office and shopping districts," says Kaufman.

Developed many years ago in west Alexandria is the Landmark shopping Center, the largest shopping area in Alexandria. "It is a 969,000-square-foot mall that has been highly successful over the years," Kaufman says. The anchors to the mall have been Sears, Hechts, Leichters and Express. It has recently signed new leases for 22,000 square feet with Old Navy, 5,500 square feet with American Eagle Outfitters and 120,000 square feet with Lord and Taylor. "This mall was entirely revitalized approximately 5 years ago," he adds.

The City of Alexandria has three major retail destinations, according to Kaufman. Old Town, on the eastern edge along the river; Potomac Yard, on the northern edge of the city; and Landmark Shopping Center, on the western edge of the city. Two major connecting roads criss-cross the city: Duke Street, which runs east-west from Old Town to the Landmark area, and Route 1, which runs north-south from Duke Street to Arlington. "Both of these roads have historically been extremely spotty for successful retail activity," says Kaufman. "I believe that both road systems will now begin a transformation into a very successful retail corridor." Presently, there are numerous small shopping plazas along these corridors. "We are beginning to hear announcements about their revitalization, which is a small signal of the retail future on these major connector roads," he adds.

Another retail trend in Alexandria, according to Kaufman, is developing in a small area that was annexed into Alexandria a number of years ago known as the village of St. Elmo's, which is situated between Alexandria and Arlington. "The main avenue, Mt. Vernon Avenue, has been somewhat blighted for years," he says. In the last few years, however, the residential part of the city surrounding Mt. Vernon Avenue has improved dramatically. "Mt. Vernon Avenue is now home to a number of good restaurants, coffee shops and the beginnings of retail stores. This area in Alexandria should show a steady improvement," says Kaufman. Recently Barefoot Shoes signed a lease for 20,000 square feet of space there.

Kaufman notes that many years ago, the people of Alexandria decided to develop the city as a headquarters for Associations. This marketing plan worked well and Alexandria did, in fact, become an Association town. "This development created a substantial and solid residential and commercial base throughout the city," he says.

Recently, two other large tracts of land have been developed in the city: Cameron Station, a former military site, and the Eisenhower Valley, a former industrial area. "Cameron Station is mid-way through its development stage and has already added several thousand housing units with several thousand yet to be built," says Kaufman. Eisenhower Valley, along with its early development of the metro station, also has several thousand new housing units as well as some major new condominium buildings. Like Cameron Station, Eisenhower Valley still has several thousand units in the planning stage. To date, Eisenhower Valley has built head office buildings for several major companies, including Time-Life.

The Patent and Trademark Office has just begun construction on the first phase of their 2,500,000-square-foot central office. "These developments are making a significant impact on Alexandria's retail sector," says Kaufman. "I believe that Alexandria is about to explode with opportunity. There are a lot of people here now, and a lot more are coming with the new PTO office. This will substantially add to the revenues of the restaurants and retail stores in the city."

Robert Kaufman is president of PMA Properties.


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