Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!
⛅ Today’s weather: Sunny. Mild. High of 73.
⛅ Tomorrow: Afternoon clouds. Pleasantly warm. High of 81. Sunrise at 5:59 am and sunset at 8:09 pm.
🚨 You need to know
A group called Preservation Virginia has ranked Potomac — once an independent (and racist) town and now a sub-neighborhood within Del Ray — as one of Virginia’s endangered historic sites, Zebra reported.
The description of the threat to the neighborhood on the Preservation Virginia list echoes many of the concerns some Del Ray residents have said about plans to add density housing to the neighborhood in hopes of incentivizing more affordable housing.
According to Preservation Virginia:
The popularity of the neighborhood’s architecture, scale and walkability is jeopardizing the very characteristics that have attracted people to it for years. Many recent residents and developers in need of larger living space are demolishing the historic, mid-sized houses to build new, often outsized and out-of-character houses in their place. Approximately 75 houses in the Town of Potomac Historic District have been demolished in recent years, and the rate of loss is accelerating.
While the desire to build new, larger houses close to the nation’s capital is understandable, the demolition of the district’s historic houses is eliminating the multiple benefits of preservation, including environmental benefits. By adding less building debris and waste to landfills and reducing material consumption, rehabbing and reusing existing buildings almost always offers environmental and energy savings over demolition and new construction.
Preservation Virginia’s solution would be placing Del Ray under the same kind of architectural review board that oversees Old Town and the Parker-Gray Historic District. The Board of Architectural Review wields significant power over what can and cannot be built in Old Town and Parker-Gray.
According to the group:
Implementing a local overlay district would create a process in which the public could participate. A review process would not necessarily preclude demolition of historic buildings, but it would provide a thorough, transparent, and public process.

📈 Tuesday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for May 9, 2023.
- JUST IN: Arrest made for 2022 West End murder (1647 views)
- Alexandria teens running community car wash today to raise awareness of fentanyl dangers (298 views)
- Alexandria Black History Museum director to lead city’s new African American History division (172 views)
- Notes: Boxing-inspired fitness center coming to Carlyle later this year (171 views)
🗞 Other local coverage
- Historian Audrey P. Davis Named Director of African American History Division at Historic Alexandria
Zebra (Tuesday @ 5:29 pm)
- Confederate Road Renaming Funds Provided In Alexandria Budget
Patch (Tuesday @ 4:36 pm)
- Most Popular Brunch Spots In U.S. Include Del Ray Restaurant
Patch (Tuesday @ 3:45 pm)
- Homicide Arrest Made In 2022 Killing Of Alexandria Resident
Patch (Tuesday @ 1:03 pm)
- Citizens React to Del Ray Neighborhood Landing on Virginia’s Most Endangered Site List
Zebra (Tuesday @ 11:28 am)
- Alexandria Ranks 5th In U.S. For College Graduates Starting Career
Patch (Tuesday @ 10:28 am)
- BASH Fitness to Open in Alexandria
Alexandria Living (Tuesday @ 7:35 am)
- Inova Celebrates Opening of Inova Veatch Family Behavioral Health Unit
Alexandria Living (Tuesday @ 7:21 am)
- Alexandria Among the Most Generous Areas in Virginia
Alexandria Living (Tuesday @ 7:10 am)
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
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Time flies when you’re having fun! The T.C. Williams High School Class of 1973 will hold its 50th reunion July 21-23, 2023 in Alexandria. All graduates and their adult nears and dears are welcome. Events include a Friday evening icebreaker, Saturday dinner dance, and a Sunday brunch. For more information: tcwilliams73.com, 770.789.3534.
Spring Fling at Rising Sol Yoga School
Join us for a day of FREE hot yoga. Experience our class styles and meet our teachers. Buy a bite at the Bake Sale to benefit The Carpenter’s Shelter, peruse some special vendors, take advantage of in-person only discounts on