To the editor:

Closure next year of the GenOn coal plant will be a great boon to Alexandria, and the timing of the closure announcement could not have been better.

The city still may consider the great possibilities of the site in its waterfront planning efforts. The imminent availability of the 25-acre parcel allows planners to shift higher-density development to the north end of the waterfront.

The entire development will be created from scratch and will allow for appropriate infrastructure and parking needed to support higher-density hotels and other uses. Moving higher-density development to the GenOn site will allow other improvements, such as parks and lower-scale developments, that are more in keeping with the mixed-use and residential use of the waterfront area. Moving hotels or other higher-density projects to the GenOn site will also reduce traffic in the already-congested Union Street corridor.