Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.
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After years of false starts, a new project to replace the former Department of Community and Human Services building in Del Ray with a short-term rental building with a daycare and retail is heading to the Alexandria Planning Commission.
The two-story, 30,000 square-foot DCHS building property at 2525 Mount Vernon Avenue was constructed in 1985 and has been vacant for years. In 2022, the site’s previous owner, Bonaventure, cited economic viability issues and backed out of plans to redevelop the property into a four-story mixed-use apartment complex. Bonaventure bought the property in 2019, but the proposal was met by pushback from neighbors who complained that it added to parking congestion and took away from the character of Del Ray.
