The conversion of a high-rise West End office building into a 212-unit apartment tower has been completed, according to developer PRP.
Washington, D.C.-based firm PRP bought the 12-story, 209,000-square-foot property at 4900 Seminary Road in 2018. The property is named Sinclaire on Seminary, and average apartments are 850 square feet in size with ceilings up to 10-feet-tall.
Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!
☔ Today’s weather: Possible light rain in the morning. High of 64 and low of 43.
☔ Tomorrow: Rain throughout the day. High of 59 and low of 37. Sunrise at 6:39 am and sunset at 6:03 pm.
Before the pandemic, I ran a Reddit forum that brought people together for local happy hours. It became a great outlet for an in-person social life: you could get out, get to know people nearby, and have a familiar group to spend time with. I enjoyed being the person who helped make that happen.
Getting people together became harder after the pandemic. Friends moved away, had kids, or settled into different routines, and organizing a night out took more effort. I still wanted that camaraderie, but having people to invite didn’t necessarily mean we could get something on the calendar.
I’m in my late 30s and live in Old Town. About a year ago, I joined Choros, a local membership community that helps guys build friendships through small-group activities. Since then, I’ve been to close to 50 hangouts, and it’s given me a regular group of guys to do things with around Alexandria and beyond.
I host board game nights and help host a monthly happy hour at the Commodore in Old Town. I’ve done escape rooms on King Street, trivia, food festivals in Del Ray, movie discussions, and Dungeons & Dragons (which can be especially tricky to get going as an adult with a busy schedule). Having that variety means I can find something that fits my mood and schedule, and there are usually familiar faces when I get there.
One of my favorite things, though, is getting on my bike, picking a destination, and making a day of it. Through Choros, I’ve found a consistent crew to ride with almost every month. That’s the kind of thing I wanted more of: people who enjoy the same stuff and make time to get out and do it together.
I still like hosting and bringing people together. What makes Choros useful is having a community to draw from, so every plan doesn’t depend on the same few friends being available. Other guys suggest and host things too, which gives me plenty of opportunities to join something without organizing it myself.
Over time, seeing the same guys at different activities builds familiarity. You have conversations to pick back up and another reason to make plans together. That’s how it’s become a circle of friends for me.
If you’re in Alexandria, check out Choros and come to one of our monthly happy hours at the Commodore. I’d be happy to meet a few more neighbors, whether you’re into board games, bike rides, or just getting out for a drink. There’s plenty happening here, along with activities throughout the rest of the D.C. area.
Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon released his proposed $881.1 million fiscal year 2024 budget at City Hall on Tuesday night, and it includes an option to raise taxes by 1 cent.
The budget also reflects $8.1 million in collective bargaining agreement funds that will go to the Fire and Police Departments.
Alexandria has just been hit with an outage that’s knocked out power to a large swath of the city’s Arlandria and Parkfairfax neighborhoods.
According to the Dominion Energy website, 3,240 residents are without power in Arlandria west of Mount Vernon Avenue, as well as Parkfairfax and parts of North Ridge and Shirlington.
Spend the evening with Washington Spirit alum and former USWNT player Joanna Lohman, a true DMV women’s soccer legend.
This is your chance to meet Joanna in person, hear the stories behind the career, the competition, and The Amazing Race, and experience the kind of sports moment you’ll still be talking about long after the night is over.
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii will open this month at 2466 Mandeville Lane in Carlyle.
The location in the Hoffman Town Center is the first of three that owners Michelle and Richard Lee plan to open across Northern Virginia over the next three years.
Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!
⛅ Today’s weather: Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 58 and low of 53.
☔ Tomorrow: Light rain in the morning. High of 65 and low of 51. Sunrise at 6:41 am and sunset at 6:02 pm.
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) leadership presented some recommendations for a school safety plan to City Council members, but faced some pushback that the process is moving too slowly and occasionally missing the point.
ACPS leadership presented interim Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt’s recommendations for a School Law Enforcement Partnership (SLEP) in a joint City Council/School Board meeting yesterday. Broadly, the recommendations emphasize continued funding of school resource officers along with a reexamination of protecting student confidentiality and new de-escalation strategies.
No arrests were made after a stolen car crashed into another car and the front yard of a home in Alexandria’s Potomac West neighborhood early Monday morning, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
Police were dispatched at around 1 a.m. to the 200 block of Tennessee Avenue after a silver Toyota Corolla with Maryland license plates allegedly fled police at high speed and crashed into a parked car and into the front yard of a home, damaging the railing to the front steps. Police determined that the car was reported stolen in Alexandria.
Youpi is a 7-year-old calico cat up for adoption at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.
She loves treats and playing, especially with her fuzzy mouse toy, according to AWLA spokesperson Erin Shackelford.
