christopher consultants Ltd. (ccl) is giving a new purpose to a 310 acre empty site along Virginia Route 1 in the Washington metropolitan area. The project, called Potomac Yard after its location across Potomac River, is one of the most significant redevelopment ventures in the nation’s capital area in the past 20 years.
Spanning Arlington and Alexandria, the Potomac Yard was historically operated as a rail yard, until plans for redevelopment were announced in 1987.
Controversy surrounded Potomac Yard during the initial planning stage when the community opposed the construction of a Washington Redskins stadium on the site. As a result of the dialogue between the Arlington and Alexandria communities and the property owners, Potomac Yard is now the site of several retail, residential and commercial projects.
ccl is involved in all aspects of this $500 million multi-phase project. The engineers started by relocating 3.5 miles of train track as preparation for the region’s largest mixed-use development project. Next, ccl design teams completed plans for the light rail system, pedestrian circulation, road network, and utilities. The firm also provided the preliminary design for the 600,000 square feet Potomac Yard retail center, which included a movie theater, big-box stores, and other small retail pads.
The Arlington section of Potomac Yard is currently in the design phase, but once completed it will provide mixed-use development of 2.5 million square feet of office space, 1,600 new residential units, and 188,000 square feet of restaurants and shopping.
Recently, ccl has completed one of the most exciting projects in Potomac Yard’s Arlington section: a 654,000 square feet two-tower office and retail building complex. One of the towers now houses the Environmental Protection Agency. The building boasts a Gold LEED Certification, which offered ccl the opportunity to expand its portfolio with “green building” and environmental design.
