Vernon Miles | ALXnow

Alexandria ranks third in national dog-friendly city ranking

Published May 2, 2022 at 2:30PM | Updated May 3, 2022 at 10:29AM

A recent ranking by Zillow of fastest-emerging dog-friendly cities — cities where pet-friendly home rentals are on the rise — Alexandria ranked third nationwide.

The ranking looks both at where dog-owners are registered on the dog boarding and walking site Rover and where there are the most page views of pet-friendly single-family home rental listings on real estate marketplace site Zillow.

News

Public tour of Alexandria’s abandoned power plant planned for next week

By Vernon Miles

Published May 2, 2022 at 1:30PM | Updated May 4, 2022 at 11:35AM

Tour gathers outside the GenOn power plant in Old Town North (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

(Updated 5/4) In case you missed your chance for a tour of Alexandria’s abandoned power plant the first time around, the Urban Design Advisory Committee (UDAC) is hosting a tour around the perimeter of the site next week.

The UDAC is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, May 11 to tour the perimeter of the Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) at 1300 N. Royal Street around 8:30 a.m. The tour will be followed by a UDAC meeting at City Hall at 10 a.m. Both the tour and the meeting are open to the public.

News

Automated parking garage in Old Town headed back to City Review

By Vernon Miles

Published May 2, 2022 at 9:50AM

Parking garage for 116 South Henry Street, image via City of Alexandria

Two years after plans to convert 116 South Henry Street into an automated parking garage first went to city review, the garage is going to the Board of Architectural Review again on Thursday (May 5) with some changes in mind.

The plan remains to build a 50-foot garage just off King Street, but the entrance is going through something of a redesign after the earlier designs were considered too “monolithic” at earlier hearings.

News

ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published April 29, 2022 at 3:45PM

Construction in Potomac Yard, staff photo by Jay Westcott

This was a rough week to be on the roads in Alexandria, with at least two road rage incidents escalating into a pepper spray attack and someone brandishing a firearm.

ACT for Alexandria met its goal by raising $2.5 million for 172 Alexandria charities and nonprofits in its 12th annual Spring2ACTion fundraiser on Wednesday. The fundraiser is the largest single day of giving in Alexandria, and donors can give on the Spring2ACTion website until May 1.

News

Father-daughter team launch Alexandria’s first field hockey club

By Vernon Miles

Published April 29, 2022 at 10:00AM

Field hockey training, image courtesy AVA Magic

Philomena Fitzgerald grew up frustrated that she had to travel outside of the city to play field hockey, so when her younger sister faced the same problem Fitzgerald took matters into her own hands and launched Alexandria’s first field hockey program.

Fitzgerald launched AVA Magic, Alexandria’s only field hockey club, with her father Alex Purugganan. The program started with training clinics this spring that have tapped into a small but growing local community of field hockey enthusiasts.

Opinion

Poll: Have you been impacted by Alexandria-Arlington bridge closures?

By Vernon Miles

Published April 28, 2022 at 3:45PM | Updated April 28, 2022 at 9:09PM

West Glebe Road Bridge (photo via Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services)

Like a parachute, a bridge is one of those things you want to be able to rely on, but some of the crossings between Alexandria and Arlington have gotten to such a rough shape that one is now closed to vehicles for at least a year.

The poor state of the West Glebe Road bridge is so well known that federal and state officials from different political parties came together to tour the scene and marvel at the disrepair.

News

Old Town building to be purchased for $12 million, upgrade plans in the works

By Vernon Miles

Published April 28, 2022 at 2:30PM | Updated April 28, 2022 at 3:53PM

515 King Street, image via Google Maps

Update 3:50 p.m. — The PR firm representing Douglas Development said the transaction hasn’t been closed yet. While the original closing date was today, the PR firm said it is being delayed until tomorrow (Friday).

Earlier: The distinctive quasi-brutalist building at 515 King Street is the latest acquisition by Douglas Development, which has been snatching up several buildings along King Street in Old Town.

News

Power plant redevelopment plans shift after lot size proves smaller than originally thought

By Vernon Miles

Published April 28, 2022 at 10:45AM

As it turns out, the GenOn Power Plant site’s size may have been a little exaggerated on city records, and it’s creating a problem for potential redevelopment.

The former GenOn Power Plant site seemed like a gold mine for potential redevelopment as a large parcel of currently unused land, but a look into some of the constraints on the site there might not be as much usable land as initially thought.

News

Affordable housing leaders in Alexandria offer look at housing advocacy post-pandemic

By Vernon Miles

Published April 27, 2022 at 3:45PM

A rally to extend the moratorium on rent evictions in front of the Alexandria Courthouse on Wednesday, July 1, 2020. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

A recent Agenda Alexandria meeting with some of the city’s leading affordable housing advocates provided a deep dive into some of the unique challenges and opportunities in the field locally.

In particular, the panel looked at how addressing the affordable housing crisis in Alexandria has changed since the pandemic started.

News

Owner wants prime Old Town property converted to residential use

By Vernon Miles

Published April 27, 2022 at 1:30PM

1101 King Street, image via Google Maps

A building in the heart of Old Town could be getting a new residential makeover if it can get a special use permit.

“The Applicant, American Real Estate Partners, requests approval of a use permit, pursuant to section 12-101 (D) of the Zoning Ordinance, to convert a portion of the existing building located at 1101 King Street (the “Property”) from office and parking to residential use,” the application said. “The attached concept plan shows the conversion of floors 2 through 7 into approximately 210 residential units (or the number of units that can be supported by the existing parking spaces).”

News

Big changes to historic Alexandria housing type headed to Planning Commission

By Vernon Miles

Published April 26, 2022 at 2:30PM

1001 King Street (photo via Google Maps)

An update to one of Alexandria’s oldest housing types is headed to the Planning Commission (item 4) with changes that could make it a little more flexible.

Alexandria is seeking to update its zoning for accessory apartments in commercial zones, that is: housing typically build above commercial spaces as commonly seen in Old Town and other parts of Alexandria.