Address: 1465 N. Pegram Street
Neighborhood: Moore Hill Estates
Type: 6 BR, 5 (+1 half) BA single-family detached — 4,488 sq. ft.
Listed: $2,500,000

Noteworthy: Stunning contemporary on almost 1 acre and winner of the 2019 Award of Excellence!

Over $1M in top to bottom renovations in 2016; full pool and pool deck renovation along with modern interior/exterior paint in 2022; and recently all the cabinetry in the kitchen/bathrooms have been replaced. Entertainer’s delight with heated pool/hot tub, grill area and spacious patio. Plenty of nature and landscaping/hardscaping completes the perfect backyard.

Airy ML consists of a gourmet kitchen with GE Monogram SS appliances — commercial grade gas range/hood and double oven, wine cooler, beverage cooler, convection microwave, column built-in refrigerator/freezer, pot filler faucet, cold water dispenser, walk-in pantry, and center island with waterfall stone and cabinetry.

Main level study with granite wood FP — a spacious great room and dining area. Owner’s suite has a spa-like bath with a custom built closet that is sure to please the most discerning buyer. This smart home has inside/outside Sonos sound system; automated light controls by Lutron; internal/exterior cameras/security system; and connected pool and irrigation systems.

Other features include the custom cabinetry/millwork, Nanawalls; designer lighting, upscale fans and fixtures throughout the house. The UL consists of 3 bedrooms — one which is a second primary suite with a sizable walk-in closet, private balcony, and large BA. The LL has 2 bedrooms and includes an exercise room with rubber flooring and mirrors. Five of 6 BR are en-suite including the 2 primary suites and all bathrooms have natural stone flooring/counters.

There is also a built-in elevator shaft from the 4 car garage to the ML. This home also has a driveway that can accommodate 15+ cars-and is located less than 1 minute from 395 and close to shopping and INOVA.

Take a virtual tour today!

Listed by:
Christine Oberhelman — Re/Max Allegiance/703-237-9500
[email protected]
(703) 216-3005

Two of Alexandria’s three Democrat mayoral candidates sparred onstage Tuesday night, expressing vastly different ideas on how they would manage city affairs.

In the Alexandria Democratic Committee‘s debate hosted by Teo Armus of The Washington Post, Vice Mayor Amy Jackson and City Council Member Alyia Gaskins laid out their philosophies on governance, as well as some specifics on their visions.

The next mayor will have to contend with a host of issues, including rising crime, the city’s affordable housing crisis, residential taxes vastly outweighing underperforming commercial tax revenues and potential budget cuts from Richmond.

While they shook hands at the start and end, Jackson and Gaskins hardly looked at each other throughout the nearly two-hour event, despite standing about five feet apart. The debate was held in the auditorium of Alexandria City High School.

Protestors calling for a ceasefire to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas also briefly interrupted the final portion of the debate, but after five minutes allowed the candidates to make their closing statements.

Outgoing Mayor Justin Wilson watched the debate in the back of the auditorium with members of the School Board and told ALXnow that he will likely endorse a mayoral candidate before the June 18 primary.

Between now and then, there are a number of mayoral and Council candidate forums.

Read More

If you’ve had trouble getting a spot at Thompson Italian in Old Town, you could be in luck soon.

The acclaimed Italian restaurant could be getting a new third-floor expansion pending approval of a special use permit.

Thompson Italian, a Falls Church restaurant, expanded into the former Hank’s Oyster Bar location at 1024 King Street back in 2022.

A new special use permit filed with the City of Alexandria asks to expand the seating in the restaurant to the third floor. The new arrangement would add 62 seats to the third floor, along with some interior renovations on the floor to open up the new seating area.

With 89 current seats in the restaurant, the new expansion would nearly double the restaurant’s capacity.

The restaurant is open Monday-Thursday from 5-9 p.m., on Friday and Saturday from 4:30-10 p.m. and Sunday from 4:30-9 p.m.

Image via Thompson Italian/Facebook

A new tour will bring locals on a tour around the ‘Lost Buildings’ around the historic Black neighborhoods of the Berg and Parker-Gray.

The Berg is a neighborhood around North Pitt, North Royal and North Fairfax Streets. The neighborhood was founded by liberated Black families who moved to the neighborhood and sought the protection of the Union Army. Many were from Petersburg — thus “the Berg”. Many of the new Alexandria residents worked on the wharves and railroads during the Union occupation of the city.

Parker-Gray was a little to the west and took its name from the Parker-Gray School, which opened in 1920 and commemorated principals John Parker and Sarah Gray.

The neighborhood predated the name, though. Like the Berg, the neighborhood experienced a population surge during and just after the Civil War.

The tour, hosted by the Lee-Fendall House Museum (614 Oronoco Street) and Carlyle Historic Park, will take visitors on a tour to explore how the neighborhood changed and to discuss historic buildings that were not preserved.

“The City of Alexandria has seen older buildings and spaces being restored, preserved, and reused in different ways,” a release said. “However, there were many buildings that were not preserved. Explore the Berg and Parker-Gray neighborhoods of Alexandria and stop at locations where historic buildings once stood.”

The tour starts at the museum every Saturday in May, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Tickets are $20 and tours are limited to ten people.

This week’s Q&A column, sponsored and written by McEnearney Associates Realtors®, the leading real estate firm in Alexandria, is a bit of a departure from our usual format. To learn more about this article and relevant Alexandria market news, contact us at 703-549-9292. You may also submit your questions to McEnearney Associates via email for response in future columns.

Question: As a potential homebuyer or renter, what do I need to know about housing discrimination?

Answer: Have you ever felt discriminated against or “othered” when trying to buy a home, rent an apartment, or even stay at a hotel? If so, you may have been a victim of a violation of the Fair Housing Act. But what qualifies as a violation and how can housing providers ensure that they are not making decisions to restrict housing of a potential resident or  customer based on a protected class?

Keith Barrett, Attorney and Founder of Vesta Settlements, recently held an overview for our McEnearney | Middleburg Real Estate | Atoka Properties Associates about Fair Housing, specifically ways in which discrimination is still prevalent in real estate and dwelling transactions and how agents should conduct their business to avoid violations and educate their clients about the  law. “Every single person is protected by the Fair Housing Act even though its genesis came from protecting against racial discrimination,” Barrett shared.

Background on The Act

The Fair Housing Act was enacted in 1968 and amended in 1988 to “prohibit discrimination by direct providers of housing, such as landlords and real estate companies as well as other entities, such as municipalities, banks or other lending institutions, and homeowners insurance companies whose discriminatory practices make housing unavailable to persons of specific protected classes including: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability.” The Civil Rights Act of 1866 can also provide relief although its scope is limited to racial discrimination.

The Fair Housing Act covers most housing and in very limited circumstances the Act exempts “owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family houses sold or rented by the owner without the use of an agent, and housing operated by religious organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.” In addition to homes, rental units, and land to be used for development, dwellings covered by Fair Housing may include nursing homes, hotels, dormitories, temporary migrant housing, and homeless shelters.

Federal laws provide the minimum level of protection while state and local governments can add further protections.

• DC’s Fair Housing protections include age, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, matriculation, source of income, place of residence or business, status as a victim of an intra-family offense, sealed eviction record, and homeless status.
• Maryland’s additional protected classes are marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and source of income.
• Virginia adds additional protections for elderliness (55+), source of funds, sexual orientation, gender identity, and military status.
• West Virginia’s additional protections include ancestry, age (40+), and blindness.
• Local jurisdictions within the D.C.-Metro area can include even more protections.

How The Act Combats Discrimination

“Overt discrimination is alive and well in the United States,” observed Barrett, citing several examples of cases of Fair Housing violations across a broad range of protected classes.

Barrett noted that following the law’s enactment most claims were about race, but currently, 53% of claims made were on the basis of disability, primarily in rentals. Many Fair Housing violations come from not making reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, which can cover a wide range of physical, mental, and psychological conditions and may not often be outwardly visible.

At every level, Realtors® work with their clients and communities to educate housing providers and empower consumers to understand their roles and responsibilities in adhering to Fair Housing guidelines. Read more about those initiatives at the National Associations of Realtors® (NAR).

For guidance on Fair Housing Rights and Requirements, consult a McEnearney Associates Realtor® to help navigate your housing situations. We’re here to help!

If you would like a question answered in our weekly column or to set up an appointment with one of our Associates, please email: [email protected] or call 703-549-9292.

McEnearney Associates Realtors®, 109 S. Pitt Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. www.McEnearney.com Equal Housing Opportunity. #WeAreAlexandria

The suspect in a 2022 West End double homicide pleaded not guilty in court Monday morning, and claims that he killed two construction workers in self-defense.

Francis Deonte Rose admits to shooting and killing construction workers Adrian Dejesus Rivera Guzman, 48, and his stepson, 24-year-old Juan Carlos Anaya Hernandez, on the morning of July 16, 2022 in the northern section of the former Assembly Alexandria apartment complex in the 200 block of Century Place.

Guzman was shot in the head and died later at the hospital. Hernandez was shot in the left clavicle and died at the scene.

Commonwealth’s Attorneys Joseph Martin and Maana Parcham are seeking to convict the 29-year-old Rose for two counts of second degree murder, two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, as well as unlawful entry, property destruction and burglary.

Martin said that Rose’s crimes escalated from mere burglary to “an unspeakable event,” and that a water break for a group of nearby construction workers on a hot summer morning would “irrevocably change many lives.”

Rose didn’t react as photos of Hernandez’s body were published in the court record and shown to the jury on Monday in what is expected to be a week-long trial.

Moore admits that Rose was the shooter, but said there was no premeditation and that his client was acting in self-defense. He said that the Commonwealth’s assertion that the killings were carried out in cold blood can’t be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. He also said that Rose’s blood was found on the handgun, indicating evidence of a fight but not a deliberate act.

“Mr. Rose had been attacked by two individuals and a third was on the way,” Moore said, calling the incident “a tragedy.” Read More

Alexandria’s outdoor pools will open up later this month.

In a release, the City of Alexandria said all pools and the Potomac Yard Interactive Fountain will open on Saturday, May 25.

Recreation Parks and Cultural Activities (RPCA) is offering 15% off season passes for pools for residents from May 1 through May 31.

“All passes must be purchased in person at Chinquapin Park Recreation Center & Aquatics Facility (3210 King St), or at any of the City’s outdoor pools starting May 25,” the release said.

The outdoor pools around Alexandria are:

• Old Town Pool (1609 Cameron Street)
• Memorial Pool at Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe Street)
• Warwick Pool (3301 Landover Street)

Photo via Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities/Facebook

Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!

🌤️ Today’s weather: Expect partly sunny skies to gradually clear, reaching a high near 82 with a northwest wind of 7 to 9 mph. Wednesday night will be mostly clear, with a low around 60 and light, variable winds.

🚨 You need to know

Melvin Canales Saldana, a local leader in the MS-13 gang, was sentenced to life in prison for a series of murders around the region in 2019 carried out on his orders, CBS reported.

Prosecutors said Canales ordered members to more aggressively work to kill rival gang members but, when none could be found, they murdered random civilians instead.

Prosecutors described the D.C. area as a “hunting ground” that summer. AT least four people were murdered around the region during that period.

Yesterday (Tuesday) Canales was sentenced at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria to life in prison. CBS reported that another gang member was also convicted and received the same sentence for carrying out the murders, and a third member was sentenced to 14 years for conspiracy to commit murder but was acquitted of carrying out the killing himself.

Image via Google Maps

📈 Friday’s most read

The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Apr 26, 2024.

1. Notes: Alexandria DOESN’T crack New York Times’ Top 25 D.C. area restaurants list (1341 views)
2. Alexandria Mayoral candidate Steven Peterson hospitalized after injury (1240 views)
3. King Street intersection improvements kicking off next month (1221 views)

📅 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.

Redevelopment is still a few years away for an industrial lot at 4601 Eisenhower Avenue, but the prospect of new development at the Victory Center and the Vulcan site has developers eyeing new investments in the Eisenhower corridor.

Like many of the lots along Eisenhower Avenue, the lot at 4601 is classified as industrial. Owner Boundary Investments LLC  is hoping for an “umbrella” approval (item 7) for a variety of special uses down the road and to expand the square footage of non-complying uses from 14,654 square feet to 45,501 square feet.

That permit will open that lot up for redevelopment down the road and help attract new clients in the meantime. The application said the building is currently “well-occupied by a number of tenants who wish to remain,” but redevelopment could come sometime within the next 15 years.

According to the application, the new special use permit would also allow the applicant to open the property up to new types of tenants:

In the interim, the Applicant intends to continue to lease space in the existing building to a variety of light industrial and commercial uses which are compatible with the existing uses in the building and surrounding uses in the neighborhood. The proposed 15-year term of the umbrella SUP is consistent with the term of previously approved umbrella SUPs along this segment of Eisenhower Avenue, will provide current and future tenants with assurance, and will enable the Applicant to retain existing tenants and attract new businesses to the City until market conditions are appropriate for redevelopment.

Staff recommended allowing the applicant more flexibility in its zoning.

“Industrial centers operating under similar ‘umbrella’ SUPs along Eisenhower Avenue have successfully, and without complaints, accommodated low-impact industrial and commercial uses, uses that may be too large for many of the smaller available tenant spaces in the City or start-ups seeking convenient and affordable locations,” the staff report said.

Eisenhower Avenue is dotted with ostensibly “industrial” parks that allow for a variety of uses that don’t fit neatly into other zoning uses, from an indoor play space to a climbing gym. Greater flexibility in industrial zones was also one of the goals of the Zoning for Housing/Housing for All overhaul approved last year.

The staff analysis said plans for the Victory Center have sparked new interest in development on Eisenhower Avenue.

“While no immediate redevelopment interest exists for the site, staff believes there is the potential for future redevelopment opportunities in the mid to long-term given the Victory Center residential development activity and the Landmark Mall and the Vulcan site redevelopments to the west,” the report said.

The application is headed to the Planning Commission on Tuesday, May 7.

Photo via Google Maps