The status of historic preservation in Alexandria

King Street at Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia. Photo from www.electricscotsman.com.

The Alexandria Extra of the Post has an op-ed by Andrew H. Macdonald (D), Member, Alexandria City Council, entitled "Preservation Efforts in Alexandria Need a Boost." In his closing paragraph he says:

I believe we need to take a new look at how we might strengthen our historic preservation efforts. Indeed, our historic ordinance has been amended some 33 times since 1946, according to Peter Smith of the Planning Department. I think it's clearly time to review a number of ideas, including enlarging the boundaries of the city's historic districts, safeguarding buildings that are younger than 100 years old and revising the architectural design guidelines for new buildings. I'd like to see the city's two historic commissions, historic foundation and city Office of Historic Alexandria hold a conference next fall to examine these and other preservation ideas. Historic preservation helps sustain our quality of life, our tax base and our sense of place. We should be concerned about more than just the market value of property.
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Sounds familiar.

Like DC, Alexandria's competitive advantages center around its historic building stock and an urban design that, at least in the core of the city, is pedestrian-centric.

After the National Mall and the Smithsonian Museums, the U.S. Capitol, and the White House, Alexandria and Georgetown are likely to be the top "non-monumental" tourist destinations in the Washington region. Of course, that's a double-edged sword.