Starting on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1) the City of Alexandria joining in the relaunching an online program aimed at helping locals get better access to housing support.
The new 2021 Northern Virginia Housing Expo will focus on offering workshops related to COVID-19 related housing issues, location options, where to buy or rent, improving credit scores, energy efficiency and more.
ALIVE! Emergency Food Distribution This Saturday — “The nonprofit will next distribute emergency groceries at a ‘Truck-to-Trunk’ on Saturday, Dec. 19 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. There will be two locations for the event: the Cora Kelly Elementary School parking lot at 3600 Commonwealth Ave. and the Northern Virginia Community College-Alexandria Campus B-1 parking lot.” [Zebra]
Lena’s Converts Rooftop to Winter Lodge — “Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap is expanding its dining experiences by announcing the debut of The Loft at Lena’s — Winter Lodge.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
At the finishing line for the mandatory affordable housing requirement for development, the policy hit some stumbling blocks as the City Council and a representative of the developers clashed over last minute changes and additions as Saturday’s City Council meeting.
Several proposed changes have been in the works for years that would essentially codify an existing voluntary contribution for additional density in developments into a mandatory requirement.
New Torpedo Factory Art Features Local Waste — “The AlexRenew Wastewater Treatment Facility treats a mix of sewage and storm water. The facility runs the wastewater through a series of settling tanks and treatment processes to remove nutrients before discharging it to tributaries of the Potomac River. The brown-colored media was crowdsourced from thousands of area toilets, according to Len.” [WWD Magazine]
Work Resumes on the Fairfax Building with the Massive Fire — “It’s been 10 months since a devastating fire at the South Alex construction site near Alexandria, Virginia, but the project is back up and running.” [WTOP]
On Dec. 31, CARES Act funding stops but the end of COVID-19 related food insecurity or income loss is still nowhere in sight in Alexandria.
A series of measures to try to compensate for the lack of CARES Act funding is docketed for the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
Today Marks 69th Anniversary of Annexation of the West End — “Happy Annexation Day, West end! Today, December 3rd in 1951, the city of Alexandria received the land west of Quaker Lane, doubling the size of the city!” [John Chapman/Facebook]
Alexandria Libraries Go Back to Curbside Only — “Effective this Monday, Dec. 7, the library will offer curbside-only and virtual services until further notice. Although library buildings will be closed, library staff will offer telephone support and virtual reference during curbside hours.” [Alexandria Living Magazine]
If you want to build bonus density, office-to-housing conversions, or continuum of care facilities in Alexandria, a new report says you should have to pony up a little extra cash to support affordable housing.
Trading density and other exceptions to zoning code for a contribution to the affordable housing fund has been a longstanding practice in Alexandria and other localities, but the new “Update to the City’s Affordable Housing Contribution Policies and Procedures” being presented at Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting includes a recommendation push for that system to be codified.
Affordable housing complex The Bloom is now scheduled to open sometime in December 2020 or January 2021.
The Alexandria Housing Development Corporation said in a press release that the 97-unit building at 930 N. Henry Street will open in the winter to locals at 50% or 60% of the area median income.
Virginia Voter Registration Deadline Extended to Thursday Night — “BREAKING: Virginia’s voter registration deadline has been extended until Thursday, October 15 at 11:59pm. If you still need to register or update your information, you can do it online at vote.virginia.gov–you can also register and vote early at your registrar’s office.” [Twitter]
City Asks for Feedback on Adding Affordable Housing to Arlandria — “At a virtual meeting Tuesday night (another meeting is set for Wednesday night), members of the Alexandria Office of Planning and Zoning presented their vision to improve affordable housing in the Arlandira-Chirilagua area.” [Alexandria Living]
Alexandria was dominated by violent crime events this week.
The second murder of 2020 occurred on Sept. 30, and ALXnow identified the victim as 57-year-old John Harding Pope. Mayor Justin Wilson and members of the City Council offered their condolences and said that justice will be served.
Alexandria planning staff are crafting a proposal to make affordable housing contributions mandatory for developers, and they are reportedly not happy about it.
City staff are recommending that council adopt a commercial-to-residential conversion contribution policy (proposed at $1.53 per square foot) and senior housing contribution requirements.
