The Alexandria Board of Architectural Review held a concept review Wednesday night for the renovation of City Hall and Market Square Plaza, a project that aims to modernize the facilities while preserving historic elements of the landmark building.
The City of Alexandria presented plans that include a detailed restoration of the 1871 historic portion of City Hall, a redesign of Market Square, and modifications to the 1961 addition, including a new fifth floor.
When all is said and done, Alexandria’s City Council may conduct city business on the ground floor of the renovated City Hall.
That’s just one of the many proposed changes to the 150-year-old building and Market Square at 301 King Street heading to the city’s Board of Architectural Review on April 16 (Wednesday).
Some big changes are being proposed at 400 King Street in Old Town.
The building takes over an entire city block and is currently home to The Alexandrian Old Town Hotel at 480 King Street and Southern restaurant King & Rye. The latter is undergoing an interior renovation and is serving a limited menu through the end of March.
City staff have signed off on a California-based yoga chain’s request to partially demolish a 90-foot section at the front of a historic building on King Street in Old Town.
Alo Yoga is asking the city to grant a certificate of appropriateness and permit to partially demolish the wall and replace it with glass panel and two French doors at 814 King Street — the current location of the Random Harvest furniture store.
After years in development, plans for a luxury condominium project in Old Town North are heading to the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review.
The BAR will look over the concept review for the proposed The Whitley – Phase 2, a six-story residential development project at 802-808 N. Washington Street on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
Two popular Alexandria parks on the waterfront are about to close for a while, and the city is soliciting feedback on their redevelopment.
Waterfront Park (1 Prince Street) and Point Lumley Park (1 Duke Street) in Old Town are prone to frequent flooding. Both will be redeveloped as the city plans on rebuilding segments of sea wall and installing a pumping station at Waterfront Park to move floodwaters back out to the Potomac River.
The Alexandria City Council upheld the certificate of appropriateness for a contentious development in Old Town after an appeal was filed by residents claiming that it will be an eyesore that destroys the historic nature of the area.
Council voted 6-1 upholding the certificate of appropriateness approved by the Board of Architectural Review in May, with small conditions.
The Board of Architectural Review (BAR) is most often in the news as a hurdle for local property owners, but the Board had nothing but praise for local restaurant Hard Times at a meeting to discuss upcoming renovations.
Hard Times Cafe is a restaurant on King Street known for its chili, burgers and general American cuisine. The restaurant is planning to temporarily close later this year for a series of internal changes.
Beloved Old Town chili-spot Hard Times Cafe at 1404 King Street could be temporarily closing to undergo extensive interior renovations.
Hard Times Cafe filed an application for partial demolition and encapsulation at the restaurant. That permit is scheduled for review at the Board of Architectural Review meeting on Wednesday, April 17.
While the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA) is going into excruciating detail to restore the Freedom House museum‘s exterior to its pre-Civil War appearance, city leaders are unsure if a sign advertising the sale of slaves might take that too far.
Today, the Freedom House Museum is a city-owned museum dedicated to telling the stories of the Black men, women and children trafficked through the building between 1828 and 1861.
Freedom House Museum in Old Town is looking to replicate how its property looked in the mid-19th century, when it was the headquarters of the largest slave-trading operation in the United States.
The proposed project at 1315 Duke Street would restore portions of the museum building exterior to how it looked between 1828 and 1861. After being deferred over the summer, it goes back to the city’s Board of Architectural Review next Wednesday, Nov. 15.
