WMATA Approves Future Sale of Royal Street Bus Barn

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board has approved the future sale of its bus barn facility located between Royal and N. Pitt streets, paving the way for the redevelopment of an entire city block in North Old Town.

Alexandria announced the approval of a future sale in a press release on Thursday. The bus barn will be replaced by a new WMATA garage in Newington, Va.

WMATA plans to issue a solicitation for the property later this year, likely once it breaks ground on the new facility. That project had been hampered by a legal dispute with a homeowners association that went all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court.

“This has been a long time coming, with the City working hard to get this bus facility moved, so it is exciting news for Alexandria,” Mayor Bill Euille said in a press release. “The planned future sale will give the City the ability to encourage development that is appropriate for the neighborhood and that will improve our quality of life and benefit our residents.”

Euille is also a member of the WMATA board.

The site, bordered by Pendleton, N. Pitt, Wythe and N. Royal streets, is currently zoned for townhouse use.

Euille told Patch in May that the site could be a combination of townhomes and apartments, but that its future “will be determined by what is the best use and the highest value that Metro gets out of the property.”

The community will have opportunity to provide public input to the redevelopment of the bus barn site through the City’s development review process, according to the city’s press release.

“We will be in close consultation with the City of Alexandria before we take any specific action on the Royal Street facility,” WMATA spokesperson Dan Stessel told Patch in May.