Shuttered Alexandria power plant making way for mixed-use development

Hilco Redevelopment Partners announces plans for Potomac River Generating Station site

Published November 16, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Potomac River Generating Station. Photo courtesy Hilco Redevelopment Partners

A former coal-fired power plant in Alexandria will become home to a mixed-use development along the Potomac River.

Chicago-based Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP), a Hilco Global business unit, announced Monday it purchased the 71-year-old Potomac River Generating Station site, which encompasses approximately 20 acres. HRP acquired the property through an agreement negotiated with Potomac Electric Power Co. (Pepco), which will retain a property interest on part of the site where it will continue to own and operate an electrical substation.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to redevelop the old Potomac River Generating Station site,” HRP CEO Roberto Perez said in a statement. “Hilco Redevelopment Partners is committed to remediating this extraordinary site to the most current environmental standards and transforming it into a new and exciting development that will best serve the community and create economic growth and opportunity for all stakeholders.”

The Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) site, located in the Old Town North neighborhood in Alexandria, was decommissioned in 2012, but remains one of the largest industrial sites in Alexandria. The Alexandria City Council in 2017 approved a plan committing to “creating sustainable and livable communities,” at the site.

“We approach every redevelopment opportunity in a way that is sustainable for the environment, sustainable for the community, and sustainable for jobs,” Perez said in a statement. “Alexandria will be no exception.”

Details of the planned mixed-use development have yet to be released. HRP will work with the city of Alexandria, community partners and stakeholders on plans for the former industrial site.

“We are thrilled to have the chance to re-envision this former industrial site in a manner that is consistent with the Old Town North Small Area Plan and provides for new uses such as housing, commercial office, dining and retail and public open space along the Potomac River and we look forward to working with local officials and stakeholders on the vision,” Melissa Schrock, HRP senior vice president of mixed use development, said in a statement.