Alexandria To Unveil Waterfront Plan

Strolling along King Street toward the river, visitors to Alexandria are confronted with what planning director Farroll Hamer calls a dead end.

"What happens is -- and we've seen people do this many times -- they go a few feet into the King Street Park, and then they see that there's nothing there and they turn around and they wander back up King Street," Hamer says.

Hamer is calling for a new King Street pier that will extend 200 feet in to the river, creating what she calls a world-class public space drawing people from Old Town toward the river. Potomac Riverboat Company vice president Charlotte Hall likes the idea, but she says she wants to see more details about how it works and how it's funded.

"I'm anxious to see it happen in my lifetime. We have one chance to get it right. We've tried it in the past, and things haven't worked out as well for our waterfront. So we've got a great opportunity, and we need to do it right," Hall says.

The plan will be unveiled at 6 p.m. Monday at the United Way building on the waterfront.