Del Ray's Gayle Reuter speaks at the mayoral campaign kickoff for Alexandria City Council Member Alyia Gaskins Jan. 28, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)
Gayle Reuter is retiring.
The news will travel fast around Del Ray, where the Alexandria Living Legend has lived and volunteered for decades. For the last five years, she’s also worked full-time as the accreditation manager for the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office (ASO).
Among the movers serving Alexandria, VA, 495 Movers stands out for a simple reason: its local hourly rate includes packing materials, furniture disassembly and reassembly, and protection for floors, walls, and elevators. The company has been in business since 2009 and has completed more than 20,000 moves, a number that keeps climbing.
Anyone who has hired movers in the DC area knows the familiar pattern. A low hourly rate wins the call. Then the invoice arrives with a charge for boxes, a charge for taking the bed apart, a fee for the stairs, and another for the elevator. By the end, the number on the bill has little to do with the number in the ad. 495 Movers was built to avoid that.
495 Movers at a glance
In business since: 2009 (17 years)
Moves completed: more than 20,000, local and long-distance
Licensed in: Virginia
Serves: Alexandria and the rest of the DMV
Local hourly rate includes: packing materials, furniture disassembly and reassembly, and home protection on every move
No separate fees for: stairs or elevators
Also offers: junk removal, custom crating, and self-storage
Reputation: 4.7 stars across nearly 1,000 Google reviews
Who is 495 Movers?
495 Movers is a full-service moving company serving Alexandria and the rest of the DMV, founded in 2009 by people who had worked as movers for several other companies first. They wanted to do it differently.
“We wanted to take a different approach, offering a simple, honest, and transparent approach for the customer,” said Moti Kachlon, co-owner at 495 Movers. For local moves, that meant building the most common extras into the hourly rate. Seventeen years and more than 20,000 moves later, the company is still growing.
What makes moving in Alexandria different?
Alexandria is a hard place to move. A truck on an Old Town block gets watched by neighbors, property managers, and a family wondering whether the sofa will make the turn on a staircase built long before sofas got this big.
Old Town’s rowhouses have narrow staircases and tight turns, which is why large furniture often has to come apart to get out. Del Ray’s bungalows and rowhouses have basements that hold more than anyone remembers. And condo and apartment buildings in Carlyle, Potomac Yard, and the West End often require movers to carry a certificate of insurance and book the elevator, with building managers who care a great deal about scuffed hallways. The street adds its own complications, from cobblestones to limited curb space.
That’s the context for how 495 Movers prices its work.
What does 495 Movers include in its hourly rate?
For local moves, the rate covers four things that many movers bill separately:
Packing materials. Boxes, tape, paper, and wrap are provided at no additional cost, whether a move needs a few or a few hundred.
Furniture disassembly and reassembly. Beds, tables, desks, sectionals, and wardrobes are taken apart, moved, and put back together at the new home. In an Old Town rowhouse, that’s often the only way a dresser gets down the stairs.
Interstate 395 northbound in Alexandria. (staff photo by James Cullum)
Good news if you’re traveling in and around Alexandria for the upcoming July 4 weekend.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) just announced that it will suspend many highway work zones and lift temporary lane closures on interstates and major roads from 12 p.m. on Thursday, July 3, to 12 p.m. on Monday, July 7.
National Science Foundation at 2415 Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria's Carlyle neighborhood (via NSF)
Senator Mark Warner is demanding a full cost-benefit analysis of the federal government’s decision to relocate the Department of Housing and Urban Development to Alexandria, expressing skepticism about claimed taxpayer savings and concern for displaced National Science Foundation employees.
The Virginia Democrat, speaking during a media availability Thursday (June 26), said he has not seen any cost evaluation for the move that will displace approximately 1,800 NSF employees from their headquarters at 2415 Eisenhower Ave.
Flooding in Old Town on May 9, 2022, staff photo by James Cullum
The heatwave continues, as the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory and flood watch for Alexandria.
Heat index values of up to 107 degrees are expected in the region, and the advisory remains in effect until 7 p.m. The NWS has also issued a Flood Watch, which will be in effect from 3 p.m. into the evening.
This weekend in Alexandria is packed with major events, including the annual Alexandria Pride Fair at City Hall on Saturday. Plus, Port City Brewing Company is getting a very early start on Oktoberfest, a Mystical Pride Prom takes over the Torpedo Factory, and there’s a full slate of live music, workshops, and family-friendly activities across the city.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins has endorse Fairfax County Planning Commissioner Candice Bennett in the dpecial election for Virginia's 11th Congressional District (via Facebook)
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins has endorsed Fairfax County Planning Commissioner Candice Bennett in the special election for Virginia’s open 11th Congressional District seat.
Alexandria has been consistently ranked as one of the top five small cities in the country for the past six years. Last year, the city got third place nationwide. The voting deadline is Monday, June 30.