The City of Alexandria is soliciting suggestions for the name of the new park at the foot of King Street. The public is invited to participate in an online survey now through November 16, and a public hearing on November 15, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe St.).
The new park will serve as the keystone to the revitalization of the Potomac River waterfront in Alexandria. Construction is currently underway to join the original King Street Park site with the sites of the former Old Dominion Boat Club building and parking lot, to create an interim park that will open in fall 2018. The interim park will feature an open plaza, a waterfront promenade, shade structures, and a modular space that can be used as an ice-skating rink in winter or concert amphitheater in summer. Several years later, the interim park will close so that flood mitigation infrastructure can be constructed and additional amenities added before the permanent park reopens.
The online survey seeks suggestions for what to name the new park, and whether the new park should include the adjacent Waterfront Park or constitute a second, separate park. Results of the survey and public hearing will be used by the City Council Naming Committee to make a recommendation to City Council. Since the survey will not be statistically representative of the entire community, it will serve as a way to get ideas for the park name and should not be considered a vote or poll. The staff proposal for the naming process was adopted by the Naming Committee on September 27.
The new park was envisioned in the Waterfront Small Area Plan as “Fitzgerald Square.” Although the Plan was adopted by City Council in 2012 after extensive public input, approval of the Plan did not constitute formal naming of any element in the Plan. All parks in Alexandria are subject to a formal naming process on the basis of focused public input. For more information about the new park and the naming process, visit alexandriava.gov/Waterfront.
