The Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public meeting Tuesday night on a plan to prevent flooding in parts of Northern Virginia.
Part of the plan includes building a floodwall along the George Washington Memorial Parkway at the Belle View Condominium complex south of Alexandria, a city all too familiar with flooded streets and homes.
The complex sits on a plot of land south of Old Town Alexandria within sight of the Potomac River.
In 2003, storm surge sent flood waters streaming into many of the condos along the GW Parkway. The Army Corps of Engineers says its plan would keep such flooding events from happening again.
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But with potential change comes controversy.
The Belle View Condominium Unit Owners Association says it's not in favor of the plan.
“Well, a six to eight foot brick wall in front of your window and closing off one of your streets and accesses people have down on the parkway side, and closing one of our parking lots and taking it really, you know, diminishes the value," Ellen Young, president of the association, said.
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A rendering of the plan shows the length of the wall, which would close off 10th Street.
Young said the condo association favors putting the wall on the other side of GW Parkway.
“Well, one of the proposals they had was you have to have a wall in order for a flood wall to be effective, but they were going to cover it with a large berm and put the bike path on top and so it would look nice," Young said.
But not all Belle View residents are opposed to the Army Corps' plan for a floodwall.
“It’s a small price to pay. You know, we have almost 2,000 people that live in this community or more and they would be affected by any event that happened and this wall would be a good thing," Belle View resident Matt Allen told News4.
The cost of the flood wall is unclear at this time.
Young believes that if the plan moves forward, property values will fall.
The public meeting is set for 6-8 p.m. at Belle View Elementary School on Fort Hunt Road. A virtual meeting is also scheduled for June 16. Public comment on the project plan will be open until the end of June.
