News

Alexandria hosting community meeting tonight on plans to reshape the West End

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria West Plan area (image via City of Alexandria)

The City of Alexandria is hosting a community meeting on plans to reshape the West End.

The Alexandria-West Planning processes is an update to a plan drafted in 1992. The new planning process kicked off back in November 2022.

According to the city’s website, the plan will:

  • Enable the 10- to 30- year-old land use plans to be updated comprehensively to address current community needs and incorporate current City policies and best practices;
  • Address the issue of housing vulnerability and affordability by leveraging housing resources, policies, and funding opportunities to meet this challenge; and
  • Develop an approach to guide and shape future development and make expectations clear for the community, City and developers.

The plan includes a detailed breakdown of housing, particularly rental housing, in the West End, as well as an examination of rents and how they fit in with the Area Median income.

“Almost all renter households [~2,800] with incomes less than $50,000 are housing cost-burdened,” a presentation on the plan said. “Majority of homeowner households [~900] with incomes less than $75,000 are housing cost burdened.”

The presentation from earlier this fall noted that 39% of the evictions issued this year have been in the West End.

The presentation from earlier this fall said the city needs to prioritize new development on site that minimizes impacts on existing housing and mitigates displacement.

“The regional housing market will continue to grow and change, cost of living will continue to rise,” the presentation said. “Without intervention, we risk a continued loss of housing affordability and fewer committed affordable units.”

Part of the plan calls for changes to land use, notably regarding the 160 acres of surface parking and commercial uses, roughly the equivalent to Potomac Yard in total size. Plans indicate that surface parking areas should be prioritized for development with new affordable housing uses.

The meeting tonight starts at 7 p.m. and can be attended in person at the Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School (1701 N Beauregard Street) or online