News

Suggestion of Affordable Housing at School Sets Listserv Ablaze — “A contractor for Alexandria’s public schools set off an online firestorm by accidentally including a rendering of an apartment building with affordable units in a presentation about modernization plans for an elementary school… the mistake occasioned a ‘3 day+ rager‘ about affordable housing, racism, and–because this is Alexandria–dockless scooters, the halal chicken slaughterhouse, and a ‘road diet’ imposed on a different leafy neighborhood.” [Washingtonian]

Pushback on (Actual) Affordable Housing at School Proposal — “Members of the MacArthur Advisory Committee and the community were left scrambling last week after the city indicated it would be exploring affordable housing on the Douglas MacArthur Elementary School site. The announcement that the city would not only be exploring co-location options, but also providing funding to Alexandria City Public Schools for an architectural exploration of potential housing options, surprised members of the advisory committee.” [Alexandria Times]


News

Absentee Voting Starts Today — “Absentee voting for Virginia’s March 3 Democratic Party Presidential Primary Election begins on Thursday, January 16. Many Alexandria voters are eligible to vote absentee.” [City of Alexandria]

Opening Nears for New Waterfront Coffee Shop — “According to Misha’s General Manager Graham McCulloch, the coffee roaster hopes to open their new waterfront location in April, weather and construction permitting. Misha’s new waterfront coffee shop, the company’s second location, will be at 6 Prince St., the former home of Olde Town Gemstones.” [Alexandria Living]


News

APD Investigates Friday Night Robbery — “The Alexandria Police Department is investigating a commercial robbery in the 3100 block of Duke Street. Merchandise was taken and one minor Injury. Expect police activity in the area.” [Twitter]

Appointment for Former Fire Chief — “Former Alexandria, Va Fire Chief Robert Dubé has been appointed Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs, according to a press release issued Friday, January 10, 2020 from Governor Ralph Northam’s office.” [Zebra]


News

Affordable housing is the focus of the first-ever Alexandria Housing Summit this weekend.

The full day of activities, which will be held Saturday from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Nanny J. Lee Recreation Center (1108 Jefferson St.), will feature bus tours of potential development areas, panel discussions with experts and city leadership and a keynote speech by Andrea Brennan, the director of Housing Policy & Development in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


News

The Alexandria Planning Commission is scheduled to consider a plan update to increase the number of affordable housing units in Eisenhower East.

Under the proposal, 10% of additional residential rental development will be devoted to affordable rental units. At full buildout, the plan anticipates up to 400-450 affordable units in Eisenhower East, versus the 66 affordable housing units that currently exist in the area. 


News

A new apartment community in the Eisenhower neighborhood is offering a “limited-number” of affordable units to income-eligible households, according to a press release.

The city’s housing site says only five affordable units are available at The Foundry (2470 Mandeville Lane), a new apartment building adjacent to the Hoffman Town Center slated to open next year.


News

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) Alexandria is hoping to buy an apartment complex in the West End to maintain it as affordable housing.

The City Council is scheduled to consider a $8 million loan to the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHDC), an affordable housing non-profit established by the city in 2004, at a meeting tonight (Tuesday).


News

The city is hoping to bring new affordable housing to the Eisenhower Valley, but some on the Planning Commission said the city is shooting itself in the foot with snobby development guidelines.

The plans to reshape Eisenhower — a topic that came up several times this week — went to the Planning Commission on Tuesday, Dec. 3. While the commission mostly praised the vision presented in the plans, Commissioner Mindy Lyle pointed out that efforts to create more affordable housing in the area are inadvertently hamstrung by the city’s own zoning and design practices.


News

Fox 5: No Additional Delays on Seminary — Alexandria’s Seminary Road controversy has taken another turn in the local TV news spotlight. This time, Fox 5 looked at the lane reduction issue and concluded that the brief periods of gridlock on the road during peak times are not, in fact, worse than it was when the Seminary was two lanes in both directions. [Fox 5, Twitter]

Population, Housing Continue to Grow — “Alexandria’s housing inventory is barely keeping up with its population growth. That’s a key takeaway from Alexandria’s recently released fiscal 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report… The city added an estimated 2,300 residents in the last year, climbing to 156,800, and roughly 2,900 total residential units, ending fiscal 2019 with 82,310.” [Washington Business Journal]


News

Alexandria’s Office of Housing has announced the 2020 Housing Summit to examine the current status of affordable housing in the city.

The event is scheduled for Jan. 11 at the Lee Center (1108 Jefferson Street) from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. The main goal of the event is to review the progress of the 2013 Housing Master Plan.


News

As part of Alexandria’s program to help first-time homebuyers who live or work in Alexandria, two properties near Landmark Mall are now on the market for around $200,000.

One of the homes is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit at 14 Canterbury Square, part of the Canterbury Square Condominiums. The home is being offered through the Alexandria Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which acquires and fully renovates distressed properties then sells them to income-eligible, first-time homebuyers. The unit is priced at $197,877.


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