I think it's best to acknowledge that this Alexandria is just not the one from IX. It's a transparent homage, absolutely, but it's not really trying to evoke IX in any truly meaningful way beyond surface level. And personally, I prefer that to the sometimes more ham-fisted "references" that end up baffling more than fan-servicing (like the Return to Ivalice storyline, in my opinion; as much as I love the raids themselves, I think it did irreparable damage to XIV's lore, while simultaneously disservicing the source material it tried to cram into it lol). And I'm sure someone will argue this crosses that fine line too, but I appreciated that it stayed within the parameters of XIV's world as we currently understand it.

Inasmuch as XIV is a veritable Final Fantasy theme park as it is, I'm not interested in literally revisiting the world of IX (or any other installment) by way of this story. I can just replay IX for that.