Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!
🌤️ Today’s weather: The forecast predicts a mostly cloudy day that will gradually turn sunny, with temperatures reaching around 78°F. A northeast wind of around 9-13 mph will be present, accompanied by gusts as high as 22 mph. As for Thursday night, expect mostly clear skies and cooler temperatures with lows around 60°F, along with north winds at a speed of 7-9 mph.
🚨 You need to know
Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) property is at high risk of default, the Washington Business Journal first reported.
The downgrade comes after the USPTO announced it would downsize its office space in Alexandria. Like many office building owners, LCOR Alexandria LLC has struggled to find tenants to fill that space.
Moody’s bumped the credit rating on the $60.2 million bond down to Caa1 — investor speak for a junk rating, according to the more business-savvy reporters at the Washington Business Journal.
According to Moodys:
The underlying rating downgrade to Caa1 reflects the high risk of default on the senior debt as early as December 2024, when the borrower will likely be unable to make its full principal and interest payments. In that event, the bond insurance policy will be triggered to fully cover the $10.1 million mandatory sinking fund redemption. The increased risk of default is largely due to the inability, to date, of the owner/borrower to secure new tenants in the two buildings on the USPTO headquarter campus that will become vacant after August 2024. Absent new tenants, shell rent on the three remaining buildings occupied by USPTO will not be sufficient to cover senior debt service in full.
Many Alexandria office developers have been turning to conversions, replacing office buildings with residential ones, but that’s another discussion.
📈 Wednesday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Aug 30, 2023.
- Four-story apartment building proposed in Old Town Historic District
- Alexandria launches public comment process for Eisenhower Avenue changes
- Despite flurry of new apartments, experts say Alexandria has a housing shortage
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
- No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.
Recent Stories
A look at the most and least expensive single-family homes sold in Alexandria last month, April 2024.
The Traffic and Parking Board endorsed one intersection change that could make Lynhaven/Del Ray a little safer but did not approve the proposed reversal of a one-way street. The proposed…
No charges were filed against a man arrested for a suspected misdemeanor assault and battery on Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray on Sunday. A passerby called 911 at around…
Here’s a roundup of all the events, live music, and entertainment happening around Alexandria this weekend; enjoy! Are you organizing an event? Submit events to ALXnow. Friday, May 3 Things…
Good news, D.C. area. You can save money on your next home cleaning with Well-Paid Maids. It’s easy!
We offer a discount when you set up recurring cleans — and the discounts just increased this week!
For weekly cleans, get $30 off each cleaning.
Potomac Harmony is Back! Following a gap year of competing, then virtual rehearsals during the pandemic, followed by the well-earned retirement of our long-term director, a year of a director search, Potomac Harmony hit the regional contest stage in Concord, North Carolina in March for the first time since 2018! It was exhilarating, reaffirming, and rewarding!
The chorus hit all of its goals, the biggest of which was to have fun and sing our best on contest stage — we did both! Because we earned a score over 400 points, our new Director, Allison Lynskey, was awarded the Novice Director award, photo above. Additionally, one of our charter members, Jackie Bottash, was nominated for and honored with the Leadership Excellence award. It was a celebratory weekend!
What’s next? So much! We now look forward to upcoming performances, growing our membership, and expanding our musical product with new arrangements and an education component each week. It’s an exciting time to be part of this ever-growing ensemble!
Alexandria NAACP, Shiloh Baptist Church, DPC to hold City Council…
The Alexandria Branch of the NAACP, Shiloh Baptist Church, and The Departmental Progressive Club to hold the City Council Candidate Forum for ALL Candidates in the City of Alexandria Virginia. The event is Free of Charge and Open to The
