ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Washington Capitals and Wizards are staying in D.C. That means negotiations to bring an entertainment arena to Potomac Yard are over. Meanwhile, Alexandria City leaders are tasked with figuring out what to do with the land that was supposed to be the site of the arena.
It's not clear exactly what's next for the acres of undeveloped land, but Stephanie Landrum, CEO and President of Alexandria's Economic Development Partnership tells WUSA9 the plan for the area will likely still be entertainment based.
"Think about arts and culture. That can be performing arts, music, that could be a museum, it could be other entertainment," said Landrum.
Landrum adds that with the arena deal out of the picture, the use of the undeveloped land is limited, and a future project would likely be much smaller than the Monumental proposal. That's because the property where the arena was supposed to be built is owned by developer JBG Smit, the same company that recently partnered with Amazon to design and develop HQ2 in Arlington.
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JBG Smith owns the land where the popular Potomac Yard Target retail store sits. Landrum says the arena deal was so big, the developer was willing to negotiate with Target to move the store to a different location. With the arena deal now dead, that likely won't happen, meaning the land will be off limits for several years as Target finishes out a 20 year lease.
The city is having conversations with other potential tenants that would bring a strong and unique commercial economic impact to the area.
"The thing that was so attractive to monumental was that it's sitting at a brand new Metro station. I do think this is intended to be a destination in the region and the ideal tenant for us to find is something that doesn't already exist in the region," said Landrum.
Andrew MacDonald helped form the Stop the Arena Coalition. He and other Alexandria residents pushed to keep Monumental Sports in D.C. The group says whatever the future holds for the space, it hopes the process is transparent and involves the community.
"I think working closely with everyone in the community is the only way to redevelop any place, but especially a place like Potomac Yard," said MacDonald.
City leaders say conversations about development in Potomac Yard are likely to play out over the next several years.
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