Author: Vernon Miles

Vernon Miles is the ALXnow cofounder and editor. He's covered Alexandria since 2014 and has been with Local News Now since 2018. When he's not reporting, he can usually be found playing video games or Dungeons and Dragons with friends.

News

Legislative discussion highlights Alexandrians’ struggle with rising rents

By Vernon Miles
Organizers outside Southern Towers lead residents in a protest against CIM Group (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

As the City of Alexandria gets ready to kick off its advocacy for the upcoming general assembly session, one of the main talking points is how the city could use more help from the state in handling affordable housing.

Meronne Teklu, speaking on behalf of the Economic Opportunities Commission, the Landlord-Tenant Relations Board and the Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee, told the City Council this weekend that each of the groups expressed concerns about the rising rate of evictions.

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News

National Park Service grant will boost Freedom House restoration plans

By Vernon Miles
Freedom House Museum, 1315 Duke Street (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

A grant from the National Park Service (NPS) will help close the funding gap needed to restore Alexandria’s new Freedom House Museum.

Once a major hub for the slave trade, 1315 Duke Street reopened in May as a museum dedicated to telling the stories of those trafficked through the building. While the exhibits are open to the public, there is still significant work needed to be done to preserve the building.

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News

Alexandria could force Parker-Gray homeowner to remove unauthorized additions

By Vernon Miles
Exterior piping at 319 North Alfred Street (image via City of Alexandria)

If you live in a historic district, always remember to get approval from the city before making a modification to your house.

One local at 319 North Alfred Street, within the boundaries of the Parker-Gray District, could be forced to remove HVAC piping (item 7) outside of the building after it was installed without the approval of the Board of Architectural Review (BAR).

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News

Alexandria enters tricky waters with affordable housing financing deal

By Vernon Miles
Samuel Madden redevelopment rendering (image via Torti Gallas + Partners/City of Alexandria)

There’s nothing unusual in Alexandria financing an affordable housing project, but one specific request from the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) could set a notable precedent.

The Samuel Madden redevelopment would replace the 66 affordable housing units with a new mixed-use development featuring around 530 units. Two-thirds of those units would be available at various levels of affordability, while the other third would be available at “market rate” –rents without any affordability baked in.

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Opinion

Poll: How important is affordable housing investment to you?

By Vernon Miles
ARHA and the City of Alexandria host a ribbon-cutting event for the Lineage, a new 52 unit affordable housing complex on North Patrick Street. (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Over the next year, Alexandria will launch an ambitious affordable housing overhaul that could reshape the city’s zoning code with a renewed emphasis on affordable housing.

The overhaul is following in the footsteps of years of zoning reforms in Alexandria that aim to get developers to help produce more housing. The city is pushing for committed affordable housing units — buildings with residences set aside specifically for those making less than the area median income — to try and keep up with the loss of 14,300 market-rate affordable units over the last two decades.

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News

Housing redevelopment in Arlandria would triple the number of affordable residences

By Vernon Miles
3908 Elbert Avenue development (image via City of Alexandria)

A planned redevelopment of an affordable housing building in Arlandria could triple the number of units on the site.

Community Lodgings Inc. is headed to the Planning Commission on Feb. 7 to pitch redevelopment plans for 3908 Elbert Avenue, currently the 29-unit Carpenters Lodgings building.

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News

New dashboard shows how Alexandria’s transit stacks up against its neighbors

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria transit statistics (image via NVTC)

Transportation geeks rejoice, there’s a new and easily accessible dashboard for reviewing Alexandria statistics.

A interactive tool put together by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission offers a quick snapshot of some transit statistics for Alexandria and its neighbors.

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News

Mixed-use development near Van Dorn Metro could create new pedestrian link with Fairfax

By Vernon Miles
Vine Street development plans (image via Dewberry Engineers/Fairfax County)

An industrial park on Vine Street, squeezed between the Van Dorn Street Metro station and the Beltway, could be replaced with a new mixed-use development — and a new potential connection to the Van Dorn Metro station.

The development plans, however, hinge on hopes that the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) express lane plans don’t bleed over onto the site.

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News

All-affordable development opening in Huntington next month

By Vernon Miles
The Arden concept rendering (image via Wesley Housing)

The Arden, a 126-unit residential development just south of Alexandria, is opening early next year.

The development from housing nonprofit Wesley Housing is set to host a grand opening on Jan. 13, marking the completion of a major affordable housing project for an area in desperate need.

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News

WMATA announces May 2023 target for Potomac Yard Metro opening

By Vernon Miles
Train going through Potomac Yard Metro station (image via WMATA/Twitter)

WMATA says the new goal is to open the Potomac Yard Metro station in May 2023, more than a full year after the station was originally scheduled to open.

The announcement comes after a delay this fall set the station’s opening for a nebulous “2023” date. While the station has been plagued by delays, there are promising signs of belated progress — including trains traveling through the station.

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