While the city makes adjustments to local transit and fosters more cultural activities in the Carlyle and Eisenhower area, there’s been no word yet on the biggest issue affecting the Eisenhower Valley: whether or not the Transportation Safety Administration will move into the long-vacant Victory Center. At the March 10 meeting of the Eisenhower Partnership, City Manager Mark Jinks said that the city’s been hearing that they’ll find out whether or not Alexandria will be the new TSA home “any day now” since a judge voided the contract in November 2015.
Jinks confirmed that the Victory Center is still one of the final five contenders for the contract, as is one of the Hoffman buildings in Eisenhower East, but that the site does face the disadvantage that the details of its offer is now public record.
“Because we ‘won,’ everyone saw our numbers,” said Jinks.
The move would bring the administration to Alexandria from its current home in Arlington, part of a recent flight of major office tenants from Alexandria’s northern neighbor. Though some of Arlington’s losses, like the National Science Foundation, have been Alexandria’s gains, Jinks said that the office vacancy rates in Arlington could have a detrimental effect on Alexandria in the long run.
“Office vacancy in Rosslyn is bad for Alexandria,” said Jinks. “It means they can offer lower prices with better metro access.”
But competition from Arlington isn’t the only threat to the Eisenhower area’s office space.
“We’ve been hearing from people that Carlyle is boring,” said Jinks. “That it’s pretty dull, that there’s no culture. Over the last year, we’ve been trying to put more events there, and we’ve expanded the Duke Street tunnel hours.”
“Live, Work, and Play” are buzzwords many developers use to advertize projects and neighborhoods, and the Eisenhower Partnership is no different, Jinks said the “play” part is what is missing from the Carlyle area.
“Food trucks can be a part of that vibrancy,” said Jinks. “We’ve had a very small food truck pilot. The council is now pushing for more. Staff is putting out a survey about where food trucks should go.”
According to Jinks, East Eisenhower is preparing for some changes, both in terms of transit and composition of the neighborhood. Jinks said that if Parc Meridian property near the Eisenhower Metro station leases well, the city is expecting that it could spur future apartment development in the area. To deal with some of the increased traffic, Jinks said the city is planning on converting the traffic circle at the end of Eisenhower into a T intersection. After some attending the meeting expressed concern about the statue of President Dwight Eisenhower currently at the heart of the circle, Jinks said it would most likely be moved to the Eisenhower Metro Station.