From Board of Architectural Review meetings to local civic activist groups, proposed housing development The Heritage has courted some public controversy along its way to city review next month.
The proposal is to replace a series of 1970s-era homes at the southern end of Old Town with a three seven-story tall structures with a total of 750 new units.
A new civic group, Citizens Association of the Southwest Quadrant, have expressed opposition to the project, saying the new development will likely exacerbate bad traffic conditions on nearby roads and that the scale of the project is out of step with the historic surroundings.
What does the City's and the developer's proposed new building designs of the Heritage properties really look like?
1)Looking Northeast from South Patrick Street and Gibbon Street showing the mass of the Heritage project against the surrounding neighborhood and townhouses. pic.twitter.com/I4afGUDri8
— Citizens Association of the Southwest Quadrant (@CitizensAssoci2) January 18, 2021
Others are dubious of the “historic surroundings” claims. Both the Board of Architectural Review and City Council found that the buildings being replaced in the project don’t meet historic preservation criteria.
Just to be clear, this is the “Old Town aesthetic” these NIMBYs are clutching their pearls about preserving https://t.co/lvo6V8g0wz pic.twitter.com/c01qcpw6s0
— TwoWheelsDC (@TwoWheelsDC) January 26, 2021
The project is scheduled to go to the Planning Commission, and then the City Council, next month.
Image via City of Alexandria
