(Updated 1/6/21) A brick parking garage at 101 Duke Street, planted squarely in the heart of Old Town, could be redeveloped into six new townhouses.
At a Board of Architectural Review meeting scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 21, a development proposal by Cummings Investment Associates Inc. is docketed for a concept review.
(Updated 1:25 p.m.) It’s been a couple weeks since plans for Inova Health System to spearhead redevelopment of Landmark Mall were announced, and in the last few days more details have emerged.
In a meeting last night, developers outlined plans to build a state-of-the-art medical facility with a trauma center, helipad, 230 patient rooms and more. The project will also reportedly come with 4 million square feet of new development, including housing, retail, and other uses.
The Alexandria Police Department has put out a reminder — and a quick explainer — that a new law that went into effect this year makes holding a cellphone while driving illegal.
“One resolution we hope everyone makes is to go hands-free while driving a vehicle,” the police department said. “Virginia had over 23,000 distracted driver crashes in 2019, resulting in 120 deaths. January 1 signifies the first day that the new hands-free law goes into effect statewide. The new law prohibits anyone from driving a motor vehicle while holding a cell phone or other handheld personal communications device, even if the driver isn’t looking at or using the device.:
Details Emerge in New Landmark Mall Plan — “Construction will happen over several years, likely starting with the demolition of the Landmark Mall building as early as 2022.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Office of Historic Alexandria Debuts Parker-Gray Commemorative Website — “Today the Office of Historic Alexandria launched a website to honor the opening of Parker-Gray High School in 1920. The page provides a wealth of history, including information about alumni, staff, and faculty.” [Zebra]
Police are currently investigating a “shots fired” incident in the West End, a few blocks from John Adams Elementary School.
Senior Public Information Officer Amanda Paga told ALXnow that the incident occurred on the 5700 block of Dunster Court. Paga said police confirmed that evidence of shots fired was recovered at the scene, but there were no reported injuries. Police are currently investigating.
A protest today (Jan. 4) outside the Holiday Inn Alexandria-Carlyle against supporters of President Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election was canceled for security concerns.
Protest organizers from Shut Down DC planned to hand out fliers and stickers and demonstrate against the Proud Boys and other Trump supporters who they call fascists and may be staying at the hotel at 2460 Eisenhower Ave. and are marching in D.C. on Wednesday.
After working as close partners through the pandemic, the City of Alexandria and community non-profit ACT for Alexandria have come together to launch a new program called the Alexandria Resilience Fund.
The new fund focuses on allocating funding to organizations dedicated to addressing the racial inequalities exhibited in coronavirus’ impact. The fund looks specifically to support nonprofits that have histories of supporting marginalized communities in Alexandria.
The primary forces behind the Landmark Mall redevelopment are hosting a meeting tonight to discuss upcoming details of the project.
Foulger-Pratt, Inova Health System, City of Alexandria are hosting a virtual meeting tonight (Monday) from 7-8:30 pm. to discuss plans for the joint four million-square-foot project that will include a new medical campus at the former Landmark Mall. Plans call for a project that would revitalize the West End with a “new mixed-use, walkable urban village.”
Any Alexandrian who has gone up and down the waterfront has passed, or even walked through, the Wilkes Street Tunnel.
The tunnel’s ties to the area’s industrial history were recently documented in the online local history repository Atlas Obscura.
Two more Alexandria residents have died from COVID-19, and the death toll from the virus now stands at 88. The city has reached 7,538 cases, an increase of 431 cases since this time last week.
The victims were a woman and a man, and one was in their 40s and the other in their 70s, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
When the Proud Boys and other protestors come to D.C. this week, they might find Alexandrians counter-protesting them in D.C. and at hotels in Virginia.
A protest group called Shut Down DC is planning a rally outside of Holiday Inn (2460 Eisenhower Avenue) in Alexandria, where some of the right-wing protestors coming to D.C. are allegedly staying.
