A proposal to build 32 four-story townhouses in Old Town will head back to the Board of Architectural Review next month.
Alexandria land-use attorney Ken Wire is asking the city for approval to demolish the Essex Building, an office building at 333 N. Fairfax Street built in the 1970s, and replace it with townhomes. Renderings show rows of four-story townhouses with garages and second-floor balconies encompassing an entire square block, bordered by N. Lee Street, Queen Street, and Princess Street. The BAR will review the proposal on Wednesday, Nov. 5. It will be the second concept review for the project, and city staff are advising some minor modifications.
According to the city:
The development will include 32 three story townhouses, mid block pedestrian pathways, and private drives. Each townhouse will be three stories with a fourth floor setback from the street facing façade, creating a rooftop terrace for each unit. Each unit will feature a garage accessed by a private drive. The townhouse development is divided into four different architectural types, based upon the existing adjacent architecture. The Type 1 townhouses will face Queen Street and will be red brick with projecting bays and punched windows. The Type 2 townhouses will face N Fairfax Street and will be grey brick with ganged windows. Type 3 townhouses will face into the interior courtyards and will be a combination of stone and brick with metal railings at the second floor. The Type 4 townhouses will face N Lee Street and are the most contemporary in design.
The fourth story on the proposed townhomes is recessed, creating a roof deck for each home. City staff are recommending that more variation be given to the rooflines of each home, and are “concerned that the recessed fourth floors give a heavy feeling to the overall building composition,” according to a report.
“There is some variation in the extent to which the overhang projects from the adjacent wall but in all cases the depth of the overhanging roof overpowers the massing, giving it a heavy appearance that creates a horizontal proportion that is in contrast to the vertical proportions of the townhouses,” city staff said.
More from the city staff is below.
All of the proposed townhouses share a similar form, three stories with a continuous recessed upper level set back from the front of the building. The result of this form is that with the exception of Type 1, all of the building blocks have an unbroken cornice that extends across the length of each block (Figure 8). At the Type 1 townhouse block, the end units include a railing that turns the corner in lieu of the solid parapet on the other two units.
Staff finds that the continuous cornice line found on most of the blocks is inconsistent with the vertical variation found in rows of attached townhouses in the historic districts. It is not uncommon for townhouses to have historically been built in repeating sections but when these are more than three or so sections, there is some variation in the roof line. This gives the overall composition some visual interest and contributes to a more enlivened streetscape.
Staff recommends that the applicant explore ways in which the perceived roof line can include greater variation. The inclusion of railings in lieu of a solid parapet at the Type 1 townhouses helps to break down the massing. Staff encourages the applicant to include elements such as this in other areas of the project. This can include the use of railings in pairs or singles or some other pattern that works with the composition of each block. Another option would be to include a roof trellis that extends from the recessed section to the building parapet in some units. This would give the impression of some units being four floors and some three floors without the overwhelming massing of a true four story unit.
