New Metro station opens at Potomac Yard in Alexandria

A new Metro station, Potomac Yard—VT, opens today in Alexandria as part of the city’s effort to spur economic development in an area that’ll soon be a neighbor of Amazon’s HQ2.

Why it matters: The station will bring riders directly to an area with mixed-use developments, including a new university campus.

Background: The city has been pushing for a station since 2008 and broke ground on it three-and-a-half years ago. The $370 million station was funded by the city using tax revenues and developer funds.

• Aside from the Silver Line extension, it’s the first new Metro station since 2004.

By the numbers: Alexandria projects the station will facilitate 26,000 new jobs, while bringing in up to $2 billion in tax revenue and 13,000 new residents over the next 30 years.

Details: Potomac Yard—VT is Metro’s 98th station and sits along the Yellow and Blue lines between the Braddock Road and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport stops. It opens as mixed-use developments called North Potomac Yard and South Potomac Yard are being built.

• The station does not have parking.

Riders can go in through entrances on both the north and south sides of the station and use a pedestrian walkway to enter the platforms.

What’s happening: Virginia Tech’s new Innovation Campus anchors the 19-acre North Potomac Yard area.

• The 3.5-acre campus is expected to open its first academic building in the fall of 2024, with plans to erect two more buildings.
• Alexandria is also reviewing plans for two residential buildings that would create 732 new units, according to Urban Turf.

The American Physical Therapy Association’s headquarters is outside the station besides a building for the National Industries for the Blind.

• A shopping center just north of the station includes a CVS, Target, Giant, and Best Buy.

What they’re saying: “The coming of the Metro has created a lot of demand for a lot of commercial development in Potomac Yard,” Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson tells Axios.

• “This ties in … with Crystal City and what's happening with Amazon there.”