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Alexandria Residents: Help Redesign Wilkes Street Park

Wilkes Street Park will be upgraded and Alexandria residents are invited to play a part in the plans. (Photo: City of Alexandria)

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities (RPCA) is planning to redesign Wilkes Street Park and is seeking community input.

Alexandria residents are invited to participate in the virtual Kickoff Meeting on Thursday, August 13 at 7 p.m. Click HERE to attend. Scroll down to the Zoom link. The meeting’s webinar ID and passcode are posted.

The Wilkes Street Park redesign complies with the South Patrick Housing Affordability Strategy, adopted by City Council last year It is meant to preserve housing affordability at the Heritage at Old Town and Old Town West III. The Strategy includes park upgrades. This means new play areas, seating and open areas for the park, located at 850 Wilkes Street.

The park, known for its bike trail and pedestrian walkways, is expected to become a place that welcomes people of all ages and abilities. Improvements will be made by the city in collaboration with Heritage Redevelopment.

Important Project Dates

  • August 13 at 7 p.m.: RPCA hosts a virtual kick-off meeting with the community
  • August 14 – September 11: RPCA receives input on park design through online survey and public engagement
  • September 17: RPCA presents the park project and survey results to the Park and Recreation Commission
  • September 18 – October 16: Using the public input, the developer design team prepares design options for the park
  • November (date to be determined): RPCA hosts a second community meeting with the applicant design proposals for the park. After the community meeting, a second online survey and public engagement is conducted asking for community feedback on the design options. Online survey is available for four weeks
  • December – January: Developer design team prepares a final park design using community input collected
  • January 2021: RPCA presents final park design to the Park and Recreation Commission for public hearing
  • February 2021: RPCA presents final park design to the Park and Recreation Commission for endorsement

Funding for the project will be provided by Developer Contributions and Public Art Capital Funding. To view design documents, click HERE.

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Kevin Dauray

Kevin is Publisher's Assistant with The Zebra Press. He has been working for Alexandria's "Good News" newspaper since 2019. A graduate of George Mason University, he earned a bachelor's in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. He also studied at the Columbia School of Broadcasting and holds a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marymount University. He is an alumnus of T.C. Williams High School. Go Titans!

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