Community Pre-Construction Meeting for the Douglass Cemetery Stormwater Improvement Project

For Immediate Release: December 3, 2025

Media Contact: Jeanene Harris, Office of Historic Alexandria, [email protected]

Community Pre-Construction Meeting for the Douglass Cemetery Stormwater Improvement Project

Alexandria, Va.- The public is invited to attend a Community Pre-Construction Meeting about the upcoming project to improve stormwater drainage at historic Douglass Memorial Cemetery. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 16, at 2:30 p.m. at Douglass Cemetery, 1421 Wilkes Street. Participants are invited to meet the contractors from Jacobs, an engineering firm, and Wetlands Studies and Solutions, Inc., an archaeology firm, who will carry out the work. City of Alexandria staff from the Department of Project Implementation and the Office of Historic Alexandria will also be present at the meeting to provide information and answer questions. Construction work in Douglass Cemetery is anticipated to occur from December 2025 through July 2026.

Douglass Cemetery, Alexandria's largest African American cemetery, is a historically significant and sacred space. The cemetery currently faces several preservation challenges, including flooding and standing water. In 2023, the City of Alexandria contracted with Jacobs to undertake a drainage analysis of Douglass Cemetery and produce recommendations to improve stormwater conditions. The implementation of the stormwater drainage improvements will help overcome preservation challenges at this burial ground.

Visit the Douglass Memorial Cemetery webpage for more information about the stormwater improvement project.

In the event of severe weather, the meeting will be held at the Lee Center, 1108 Jefferson St, Alexandria, VA 22314.

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About the Office of Historic Alexandria

The Office of Historic Alexandria preserves and shares the history of the City of Alexandria with eight museums, historic sites, archives, archaeology, tours, exhibits and public programs. Through powerful storytelling and confronting the City's past, Historic Alexandria enriches the present and inspires the future. We enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors and serve as a partner in the City's equity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, visit alexandriava.gov/Historic.

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact Nicole Quinn at [email protected] or call 703.746.4554, Virginia Relay 711.

If you prefer communication in another language, free interpretation and translation services are available to you, please email [email protected] or call 703-746-3960.