Alexandria leaders are working on permanently reducing speed limits and adding speed cameras in school zones.
The news comes in the wake of the last month’s crash that injured a student walking home outside Jefferson Houston Elementary School.
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).”
Alexandria already feels like home. It’s the trails you walk, the restaurants you return to, and the easy reach of D.C. that make it all work. The question is whether your home feels as right as the city around it. For those who love Alexandria but want more space, more privacy, and more choice, Van Metre at Banner Heights offers a new opportunity to have it all, just minutes from I-495, I-95, and Old Town Alexandria.
Every Van Metre homesite at Banner Heights has a backyard that doesn’t face into another homesite, so the space behind your home is entirely yours, and a deck or covered terrace makes it the spot for a quiet morning or a long evening with friends. Four levels offer up to five bedrooms and an optional elevator. From there, 20+ personalization options let you decide the rest: add a bedroom on the lower or fourth levels, a great room fireplace with ceramic detailing, or a wet or dry bar, plus upgraded flooring and packages for electrical, tech, and comfort.
With more than 70 years of building across Northern Virginia, Van Metre designs homes around the way people live. At Banner Heights, that means the T-27 townhome plan with 3-5 bedrooms, 3-4 full and 1-2 half baths, 3,014+ square feet, a 2-car garage, and 20+ personalization options, starting from the $1.25Ms.*
Van Metre at Banner Heights is now open for Early Access, giving interested buyers the chance to purchase before our grand opening, when initial homesites deliver.
*Pricing, offers, and availability are subject to change without notice. Some images and renderings may represent a similar home or may have been created or edited using artificial intelligence (AI), and may depict design elements, furnishings, finishes, landscaping, views, or other features that are not included in the home or may not be available. Please see a Van Metre New Home Advisor for details.
There’s a new grocery store in the area. Juana Supermarket officially opened its doors on Saturday (April 23).
The new store replaced the La Latina Market at 5838 N. King’s Highway in the Huntington Station Shopping Center. The shop is managed by Pino Gibson, Jr., and it’s his only location.
Revolutionary Fitness, the strength and longevity training studio for people over 50 at 215 N. Payne St., is opening 5 spots in its members-only year-end challenge.
Every year, the stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s knocks people off track. Workouts get skipped, schedules fill up, and the plan becomes “I’ll start in January.”
(Updated at 10:45 a.m.) Alexandria Police reported a sudden death Wednesday morning in the City’s Arlandria neighborhood.
The death was reported in the 3900 block of Mount Vernon Avenue at around 6:45 a.m., and the area from Executive Avenue to Russell Road was temporarily shut down, but the street was reopened as of 10 a.m.
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.
The People’s Drug shifts towards more food options — “…a new food menu, inspired by the space’s nostalgic feel, is leading People’s Drug into a new era, even as it keeps its elevated, retro feel with classic white subway tiles, a tin roof and a neon sign behind the marble bar.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
It’s Wednesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 59 and low of 45. Sunrise at 6:16 am and sunset at 7:58 pm. [Weather.gov]
The trash situation is changing in Alexandria, as City leaders are ironing out a new curbside food waste collection pilot.
Mayor Justin Wilson’s proposal for the one-year pilot would see annual residential and commercial refuse collection fees increase from $484 to $500 citywide, or $1.33 a month.
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.
Spring2ACTion has broken Alexandria’s single-day fundraising record two years in a row, but can ACT for Alexandria do it again?
The nonprofit wants to raise $2.5 million from 10,000 donors for 171 Alexandria nonprofits and charities — essentially matching the amount raised last year.
A building that could be effectively City Hall 2 will bear the name of recently retired City Council Member Del Pepper, but some of the finer details remain to be worked out.
The building at 4850 Mark Center Drive will house services from the Department of Community and Human Services, Alexandria Health Department and Neighborhood Health, along with a permit center and financial services. The goal of the new facility is gather desperate services across the city into a central non-Old Town location.
At its October general membership meeting, the NAACP Alexandria Branch 7043 Nominating Committee presented its slate for the 2027–2028 term and named John Hopkins-Gillispie as its nominee for Branch President.
Hopkins-Gillispie is a life member of the branch. He has chaired the Freedom Fund Dinner for the past two years, and this year’s dinner raised more than $40,000 for the branch. He serves on the Legal Redress Committee, reviewing discrimination complaints brought to the branch. He has provided input on issues from the Alexandria Police Department’s hate crimes policy to the proposed Edsall Road data center. He also represents the branch as co-chair of the host committee for the 2027 Virginia State Conference convention.
