The Block 20 East Condominiums project has garnered positive reviews from the City but with one bit of feedback that doesn’t come often in Alexandria: it’s not tall enough.
The project is heading back to the Carlyle/Eisenhower East Design Review Board on Thursday, July 18, and a staff report said the Board has generally been supportive of the project, but that it needs to be two stories taller.
“The building does not meet the recommended minimum building height of 150 feet,” the report said. “The height should be increased to meet this. The applicant should further explore the inclusion of 2 additional stories to better transition in height from adjacent buildings.”
The current plan is to build a 13-story multi-unit residential condominium building. The development’s current designs measure 150,300 gross square feet and have 110 dwelling units.
Generally, much of the urban design battles in the city involve haggling with developers over height and massing, with neighbors often urging the city to keep heights lower while developers build taller. Carlyle, however, already features Tysons-esque tall, dense developments and more are inbound near the Block 20 East project.
The report said the Board also urged the applicant to “explore adding rooftop amenities to the proposed building” like a roof over the 12th floor of the tower to provide more opportunities for recreation and to enhance the building silhouette.
The Board also recommended that the city integrate itself into the area better at the ground level as well.
“There should be improved interaction between the building at ground level with Mill Road to the east by adding a building entrance off Mill Road, as well as reducing the scale
of the stone wall in favor of expanding transparency (windows) at ground level,” the report said.
