Alexandrians Gird For National Harbor

Happiest of all are the owners of the stores and restaurants along King Street.

"It will bring some new energy to the city," said Glenda Giovannoni, president of Old Town Food Service, which owns the Fish Market restaurant and Pop's Ice Cream. "Anything that brings people is good."

Giovannoni hopes the new developments will spur a large-scale return of the most profitable clientele, young and childless urban professionals, adding that many of the restaurant's longtime patrons now show up with kids in tow, asking for high chairs instead of tall schooners of beer.

Fred Parker, founder of Hard Times Cafe, also on King Street, welcomes the prospect of more people arriving with a craving for spicy fare.

"Traditionally, the chili business slows down in the summer, but hopefully this will give our business a boost in the hot weather," Parker said.

Jay Thomas, who owns a Kwik Kopy printing shop near the waterfront, is weighing the pros and the cons. He began getting nervous about the potential effect on parking and auto congestion, which could make it hard for his regular patrons to reach him, after he began noticing the immense scale of the construction projects underway. He said local tourism officials have tried to reassure him by stressing that any losses he might suffer would be offset by the potential to score new contracts selling marketing materials to conventioneers.

"It was a little scary, a threat, when it first began coming up, but [officials] are taking the position it is an opportunity," Thomas said.

Parking is a major concern. Alexandria is developing plans to encourage people to walk or bicycle from place to place, and it has set aside $200,000 to create a shuttle bus to transport visitors from the waterfront to the King Street Metro station. Officials say they hope the transit service will be free to encourage people not to drive. They believe the half-dozen parking garages scattered throughout the core of Old Town can accommodate most of the motorists.

"Building more parking garages is not an attractive option, because it only adds to the numbers of cars on the road," said Richard Baier, Alexandria's director of transportation and environmental services. City, regional and state transportation officials will gather in Alexandria on April 19 to explain plans for dealing with auto congestion, including traffic problems relating to National Harbor and the Wilson Bridge, and Baier said residents with questions should try to attend.

Others question whether an increase in tourists could end up drawing businesses that cater to vacationers: fudge stores, tattoo parlors and funky T-shirt emporiums. Landrum, of the economic development partnership, is quick to quash that vision: She says the city's zoning ordinance and special use permitting process will allow officials to weed out what she called "down-market uses and undesirables."

Many residents seem to agree that the prospects are mostly positive.

"I think it will be a success, and I think Alexandria will benefit," said Bill Harvey, who lives in Alexandria's Carlyle development on the edge of Old Town.

But not everyone is convinced yet, especially those who fear being displaced because of economic activity generated by the mega-developments. They fear that the historic buildings will be preserved but not the residents who have lived in them.

"Alexandria is a historic town, and there is value for Alexandria in preserving what it has been," said Chuck Benagh, a resident of the Hunting Towers complex near the Wilson Bridge. "The human part is a big part of any community. Once you deport your elderly, you make it other than what it was."