The Alexandria City Council will convene for a public hearing Saturday morning to consider several development projects and zoning ordinances, including two major residential conversion proposals in Old Town.
The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. at City Hall, 301 King St., and is open to the public in person and virtually via Zoom.
On This Day: Alexandria’s Role in Creating Arlington National Cemetery — On this day in 1862, Alexandria leased land at the west end of Wilkes Street to the Federal government, establishing the nation’s first military cemetery. As Civil War casualties mounted, the cemetery filled rapidly—nearly 4,000 graves within a year, mostly soldiers who died while receiving medical care in the city. When burial space ran out, Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs proposed a solution that would become iconic: burying the war dead on the grounds of Arlington House, Robert E. Lee’s vacated estate. That decision gave birth to Arlington National Cemetery. [Historic Alexandria]
Eight ARHA Commissioners Resign Ahead of Deadline — Eight of nine Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority commissioners resigned Tuesday in response to a demand from Mayor Alyia Gaskins and City Council that they step down by today’s deadline or face formal removal proceedings. City Council will meet today at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers to vote on an emergency ordinance amending the city code and make immediate appointments to the Board. [ALXnow]
Alexandria City Manager James Parajon presented a sobering economic outlook to the City Council Tuesday night, warning of troubling trends in unemployment, consumption taxes, and consumer confidence despite the city’s recent achievement of crossing $1 billion in visitor spending.
The monthly State of the Economy report, part of a series requested by Mayor Alyia Gaskins and members of the City Council, highlighted deepening concerns about national economic uncertainty and its local impacts as the city prepares for budget discussions.
UPDATE (Oct. 15, 7:35 p.m.): Alexandria City Council unanimously appointed six new commissioners to the ARHA board during an emergency special meeting Wednesday night, with three seats remaining open for future appointments. Read the full story here: Alexandria City Council appoints six new ARHA commissioners day after mass resignations
Eight of nine Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority commissioners resigned Tuesday in response to a demand from Mayor Alyia Gaskins and City Council that they step down by today’s deadline or face formal removal proceedings.
The Alexandria City Council will consider a grant application for flood mitigation projects and vote on dozens of board appointments when it convenes Tuesday, October 14 at City Hall.
The Legislative Meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. at 301 King St., will be preceded by a Landmark Community Development Authority meeting at 5:45 p.m. and a closed executive session (if needed) regarding specific legal matters pertaining to the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
Alexandria City Council members grappled with difficult decisions on Tuesday evening about which major infrastructure projects deserve funding over the next decade, as Alexandria approaches its debt capacity limits while facing $307 million in unfunded needs.
The work session at City Hall focused on prioritizing projects within the city’s Capital Improvement Plan — a $2.1 billion blueprint for infrastructure investments through 2035 that includes everything from school replacements to fire station upgrades and recreation facilities.
Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood was packed with art lovers for the 30th annual Art on the Avenue festival in Del Ray on Saturday (Oct. 4).
Hundreds of juried artists sold their work, live music was performed on four stages and the event and its founder Pat Miller were recognized by Alexandria Congressman Don Beyer (D-8th), Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5th) and Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley.
Alexandria recorded 3,738 eviction summonses in 2025 as of Thursday, up 21% from the previous year, according to the city’s eviction trends dashboard. The figure represents an increase of nearly 200 filings since Mayor Alyia Gaskins reported 3,544 filings during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The rising numbers come as Alexandria faces economic pressures from federal downsizing affecting approximately 13,000 federal employees living in the city and a federal government shutdown that began Wednesday.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins cast the lone dissenting vote that blocked the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority from endorsing a proposed extension of express lanes along the southern stretch of I-495, she told the City Council on Tuesday night.
The NVTA considered approving a letter of support for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s I-495 Southside Express Lanes Project at its Sept. 11 meeting. Still, the measure failed due to the authority’s voting requirements.
The Alexandria City Council’s Naming Committee is moving forward with plans to rename or rededicate four streets currently named for Confederate military leaders, focusing on honoring local historical figures and civic leaders instead.
Councilman John Chapman presented the committee’s Phase 2 recommendations during Tuesday’s council meeting, outlining proposed changes for Calhoun Avenue, Stevens Street, Frost Street, and Iverson Street. The changes are part of an ongoing effort to address street names established by a 1953 ordinance that required north-south streets to be named after Confederate leaders.
Alexandria City Council signaled support Tuesday night for spending $150,000 to study an alternative location for a controversial flood mitigation pump station. This move would pause current design work for several months.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins introduced the proposal during council member updates, explaining that the Waterfront Commission had recently requested staff examine 1 Prince Street as an alternative to the current Waterfront Park location.
