Vernon Miles | ALXnow

New ‘art consulting firm’ with focus on contemporary and Cuban art opens in Old Town

Published February 5, 2024 at 3:50PM

Ribbon cutting at NCO Creative (image courtesy the Chamber ALX)

A new firm specializing in representing and exhibiting Cuban artists opened in Old Town this weekend.

NCO Creative is an art consulting firm that opened this Saturday at 119 South Fairfax Street — a block south of City Hall.

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Hotel redevelopment could make Vulcan Materials site off Van Dorn Street ‘live long and prosper’

By Vernon Miles

Published February 5, 2024 at 2:00PM | Updated February 5, 2024 at 7:58PM

The Vulcan Materials site (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated 6:20 p.m.) After a few years on backburner, plans to remediate and redevelop Vulcan Materials — an industrial site near the Van Dorn Metro station — could be reheating.

An application filed by the Lennar Corporation and Potomac Land Group II LLC with the City of Alexandria calls for the remediation of the existing site to create a new mixed-use development. The new project features a hotel facing S. Van Dorn Street, retail, condominiums, townhouses, two-over-two units and a six-acre park along Backlick Run dedicated to the city.

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Alexandria Police seeking community help in Potomac Yard assault investigation

By Vernon Miles

Published February 5, 2024 at 9:50AM

2200 block of Main Line Blvd (image via Google Maps)

The Alexandria Police Department launched a manhunt this weekend for a suspect who allegedly attacked a woman in the Potomac Yard neighborhood and tried to pull her into an alley.

Police said the suspect attacked a person around Main Line Blvd. but was able to get away. Police are seeking camera footage from neighbors or information from anyone who may have seen anything suspicious. Tips can be called in at 703 746 4444.

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Another ACHS student suffers non-fatal overdose this week

By Vernon Miles

Published February 2, 2024 at 1:55PM | Updated February 2, 2024 at 3:34PM

Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Cullum)

A suspected, non-fatal student overdose occurred at Alexandria City High School this morning — the second in less than a week.

According to the scanner, the overdose was reported around 10 a.m. Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt said the suspected overdose occurred on the King Street campus.

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VDOT unveils transportation plans for new Potomac Yard arena

By Vernon Miles

Published February 2, 2024 at 10:00AM

Plans for Route 1 (image via VDOT)

The proposed Potomac Yard arena could hold up to 20,000 people and those attendees have to get to the arena somehow.

A presentation prepared by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), City of Alexandria and Monumental Sports & Entertainment provided a glimpse at plans to handle that traffic.

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Mount Vernon Trail widening project clears planning hurdle

By Vernon Miles

Published February 1, 2024 at 3:50PM

Cyclists along the Mount Vernon Trail along the Potomac River near Belle Haven (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Plans to narrow the George Washington Parkway and widen the Mount Vernon Trail cleared another hurdle this week.

The changes could be coming to the Mount Vernon Trail just south of Alexandria. The National Park Service issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for an Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluating the impacts of the proposed changes, according to a release.

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WMATA funding crisis forces strange alliance between Alexandria and Gov. Glenn Youngkin

By Vernon Miles

Published February 1, 2024 at 11:15AM

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin speaks at the announcement of a new arena for the Washington Wizards and Capitals in Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Dec. 13, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

It’s a classic trope, from the epic of Gilgamesh to the Fast & Furious: two enemies or rivals have to team up and put their differences aside to tackle a bigger threat.

Like some of the best odd couple pairs, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the mostly Democratic City of Alexandria have had some pretty public feuds, but the Potomac Yard arena and connected Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) funding could make for strange bedfellows.

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Lecture this month explores the search to find the family of an Alexandria lynching victim

By Vernon Miles

Published February 1, 2024 at 10:00AM

Sign commemorating the lynching of Joseph McCoy (image via City of Alexandria)

Genealogist and Alexandria Living Legend Char McCargo Bah didn’t have a lot of leads to go on when it came to finding the family of a man murdered in Alexandria over 125 years ago.

Joseph McCoy was lynched by a mob in Alexandria in 1897. In recent years, Alexandria has worked to commemorate the brutal murder of McCoy and other lynchings in the city as part of a nationwide initiative.

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Potomac Yard arena listening session on Thursday tackles controversial project’s biggest challenge

By Vernon Miles

Published January 31, 2024 at 3:55PM

Rendering of aerial view of Monumental Arena development (image courtesy of JBG SMITH)

Various concerns have surfaced about the Potomac Yard arena development, but the recurring throughline has been concerns over transportation and traffic.

Tomorrow (Thursday) the City of Alexandria is holding a virtual listening session on transportation and traffic management concerns specifically.

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Major Braddock neighborhood street closed this weekend

By Vernon Miles

Published January 31, 2024 at 11:00AM

Detour planned for N. Henry Street (image via City of Alexandria)

Travelers through Alexandria might want to steer clear of N. Henry Street in the Braddock neighborhood this weekend as a section of the road will be closed for construction work.

The 700 block of N. Henry Street — between Madison Street and Wythe Street, next to the Charles Houston Recreation Center — will be closed from 12:01 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4.

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Robinson Terminal North, a major piece of Alexandria’s Waterfront Plan, headed to city review next month

By Vernon Miles

Published January 31, 2024 at 10:00AM

Plans for Robinson Terminal North (via City of Alexandria)

Plans for Robinson Terminal North, one of the last missing pieces of Alexandria’s aspirations for a contiguous waterfront, are headed to city review next month.

The development, first reported last November, involves a multifamily residential building with ground-floor retail and a restaurant. The project is headed to the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday, Feb. 21.