"It's silly. They're not doing their homework," Mann said.
Mann and two others own the parking lot that covers 200, 204 and 208 Strand St. The city is also interested in a marine repair shop at 210 Strand, the gun shop at 0 Prince St. and the boat club parking lot at 2 King St. Plans to acquire the boat club building at 1 King St. are on hold.
The Old Dominion Boat Club is nestled along the Alexandria waterfront. On Nov. 9, the City Council took a major step toward preserving a large portion of the city's land fronting the Potomac.
(James M Thresher - The Washington Post)
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To complicate matters further, the title to the properties remains in dispute because of the federal government claim. For decades, the federal government has contended that it owns the land along the Potomac in Alexandria because of a land swap dating to 1791 and the creation of the federal city. The U.S. Park Service seeks to retain the title to the land so it can maintain a degree of control over how it is developed.
The city believes it will be able to work out a resolution with the Park Service if it is able to purchase the land from the property owners.
But "it's not for sale!" Mann said firmly. "Over our dead bodies!"
Mayor William D. Euille and other officials have said they hope to reach an equitable resolution with property owners without resorting to seizing the land through eminent domain.
It is unclear what the new waterfront would look like, but Kimberly Fogle, the city's chief of neighborhood planning and community development, said the city will hold community "visioning" sessions early next year.
"I think the direction the city is going to be headed is to have a major public open space," Fogle said.
The city wants bikers, joggers and pedestrians to be able to move freely along the waterfront on the Mount Vernon Trail from Daingerfield Island through Old Town and south to Jones Point Park. The Mount Vernon Trail now diverts to Union Street in Old Town, more than a block from the river.
"I think having a waterfront where people can walk and bike from end to end, stroll with their kids, have this continuous feeling of openness, would be an incredibly powerful thing for Old Town," council member Rob Krupicka (D) said.
But even if the city succeeds in buying the parcels directly along the Potomac, its dream of a continuous waterfront promenade will still be complicated by two large newsprint storage and distribution buildings on Union and Duke streets that are owned by the Robinson Terminal Warehouse Corp., a subsidiary of The Washington Post Co. Neither is targeted for purchase by the city.
The company does not plan to leave Alexandria. Even though newsprint is not currently being delivered to the warehouses by water, having access to the river would increase the number of potential newsprint suppliers, an official said.
"Robinson Terminal is in Alexandria because we need to have the ability to bring in newsprint by water for our customers," said Kent Barnekov, president of Robinson Terminal Warehouse Corp.
But the land that can be preserved now needs to be acquired, Macdonald said, and soon.
As the wood boat sped past the Robinson south terminal -- and some of the million-dollar townhouse complexes that skirt it -- Macdonald recalled his long interest in the waterfront, dating from his childhood growing up on South Lee Street, where his days were filled with fishing off the tip of Jones Point Park and watching barges dock.
"I think we're trying to finish off an effort that has been done in fits and starts," he said.
"It's critical to do these last pieces very carefully. This is our last chance, and we've got to do this right."
