Following City Council discussion and approval to initiate a solicitation process at the Tuesday, February 10, 2026 Legislative Meeting and the Saturday, February 21, 2026 Public Hearing, the City of Alexandria, Virginia (the “City”) is pleased to offer an exciting opportunity for a well-qualified team (the “Operator”) to lease, manage, and operate the Torpedo Factory Art Center, located at 105 N. Union St., Alexandria, Virginia. The City is seeking operators that have a proven combination of experience, financial capacity / credit worthiness and expertise in the management, operation, and marketing of successful art centers with the ability to manage artist studios, galleries, arts programming, and facility rentals. The project will provide the selected Operator with the opportunity to be creative in its management, marketing, and operation of this unique cultural landmark.

RFP Documents

1. Request for Proposals - Terms and Specifications for Bids for Franchise including all attachments and appendices (February 23, 2026 version).

               a. Appendices A.1 and A.2. (Word version)

All materials associated with this request for proposal will be posted to the City’s website at www.alexandriava.gov/torpedofactory. Proposers should check this website regularly for updates and addenda. To receive email notifications when addenda or other updates are posted and signing up for the non-mandatory site visit (March 13, 2026 at 10 a.m. EST), fill out this form: https://www.research.net/r/TFAC-RFP.  

All communication, including inquiries or exceptions, relating to this solicitation must be emailed to Alfred Coleman at alfred.coleman@alexandriava.gov (“City Representative”). The proposal documents are to be sent to Alfred Coleman by e-mail at alfred.coleman@alexandriava.gov and must be received on or before 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday, April 27, 2026.

Non-Mandatory Site Visit 

Please sign up for the site visit at https://www.research.net/r/TFAC-RFP to support with planning the tour. City staff will meet interested respondents inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center building near the 105 N. Union St entrance at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 13. The site tour will begin at 10:15 a.m. after introductions. The site tour should end by 11:30 a.m.

Summary of Key Dates

The anticipated schedule for accepting and reviewing proposals and operator selection is:

As part of the continued revitalization efforts of Torpedo Factory Art Center, the City established a stakeholder task force charged with helping develop a coherent approach to vibrancy and sustainability in alignment with the principles for Torpedo Factory Art Center adopted by City Council at their meeting on December 14,2021. 

Click here for information about the Stakeholder Task Force including meeting presentations and recordings. 

They used to make torpedoes

Ground broke on the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station in 1918, the day after Armistice Day ended WWI. Mark 3 torpedoes—like the silver model through the red doors to your right—began production in 1920. This building held the completed torpedoes as they waited to be shipped via the Potomac. The factory operated for five years before becoming munitions storage.

During WWII, the Torpedo Station grew to 16 buildings with 5,000 non-segregated employees. They produced Mark XIV torpedoes, including the green torpedo in the Grand Hall. The bright paint indicates it was a test torpedo, making it easier to spot through binoculars at the Naval Torpedo Test Range in Piney Point, MD. This building is one of the last structures from the original factory.

Less than two months after V-E Day, they built the last torpedo on June 18, 1945. Production shifted to rocket motors before the plant shuttered in June 1946.

In the 1950s, the complex converted to the U.S. Federal Records Center and stored large federal collections. Captured Nazi documents were translated from German for the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. Smithsonian dinosaur bones and other oversized objects and archives were also housed here. The City of Alexandria acquired the complex in 1969.

In 1973, many roads met to form a new cultural hub in Alexandria. Marian Van Landingham, as president of The Art League, sought a new building to house the nonprofit. Alexandria was also preparing for its Bicentennial celebrations and wanted to improve the derelict waterfront by 1974. James W. Coldsmith, editor of the Alexandria Journal, suggested Van Landingham consider the abandoned torpedo plant, solving two problems at once.

Van Landingham rallied the community and City Council around the idea. She joined the City of Alexandria’s staff as the Art Center’s first director from 1974 –1975, before embarking on a decades-long political career in the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond.

The Art Center was originally pitched as a three-year experiment. Under the direction of Van Landingham’s successor, Margaret Alderson, the longest-serving director to date, the Art Center established itself as an edifying mainstay for the region. 

Artists earn studios through a multi-phase competitive jury process. Meet them as you visit all three floors. Spark your creative spirit by watching them work. Bring home original art, too.

Learn more at torpedofactory.org.

Torpedo Factory Art Center is managed by the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities through the Office of the Arts. Learn more at alexandriava.gov/arts. Follow @alexartsoffice on Instagram.

There was no Open Call for studios in 2025. As a result, only artists who have already been juried in will be eligible for studio opportunities. 

A determination has not been made for 2026. Please check back for updated information in Spring 2026. 

For past Open Call information, including the Jury Report, visit torpedofactory.org/opencall