Potomac River Generating Station

The Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) project represents a comprehensive urban redevelopment initiative in Alexandria, VA that aims to transform a former industrial site into a thoughtfully designed multimodal neighborhood. The project underwent an extensive planning process, requiring Gorove Slade’s team to collaborate closely with the project team, the City of Alexandria, National Park Service, and local community stakeholders to create a development that prioritizes connectivity, sustainability, and integrated urban design. 

At the project’s core is an urban design framework known as “Trail-Oriented Development.” This framework emphasizes human-powered mobility through trails and trail-supportive infrastructures, including a unique “woonerf” – a Dutch-inspired “living street” concept that prioritizes pedestrian and bicycle movement while allowing minimal vehicle access. The woonerf significantly enhances transportation infrastructure by creating new street connections, extending bicycle facilities, increasing safety standards at intersections, and providing better connections to the Mount Vernon Trail. Specific improvements include new signalized intersections, on-street bicycle lanes, bus route realignments, and strategic improvements to challenging intersections along the George Washington Memorial Parkway.