What a week it’s been in Alexandria.
Our top story this week was the report that Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. sends one of his children to Bishop Ireton High School. In case you missed it, the story first broke in Theogony, the T.C. Williams High School newspaper.
Six months after approving construction for the southern entrance to the Potomac Yard Metro station, the final plans are going to the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday, October 21.
City Council unanimously approved the second entrance for the Potomac Yard Metro station in April. The project includes a bridge over wetlands that connects to the northern entrance, . The city is planning for the southern entrance to open at the same time as the station in March 2022.
What a week it’s been in Alexandria.
The pandemic seemed inescapable this week, and much of our coverage was related to dealing with the coronavirus.
The Alexandria Board of Architectural Review will consider a permit to demolish/capsulate the Regal Potomac Yard movie theater, which closed in March due to the pandemic and never reopened.
The one-story theater first opened in 1998, and “is an example of a typical multi-screen movie theater built during the late 1990’s throughout the region,” according to a city staff report.
Beyer Negates Trump’s Coronavirus Claims — “Nearly 194,000 Americans have died in a pandemic Trump lied to the country about. As Dr. Gottlieb points out, the coming cold weather months bring danger of new spread of the virus. Even after seven months of this Trump still has no strategy to keep Americans safe.” [Twitter]
Former Mayor Silberberg Says Taylor Run Restoration Will Hurt Environment — “Recent soil testing from Taylor Run, analyzed by Brookside Laboratories, showed a negligible amount of phosphorous in the soil of the stream bank. Restoration of Taylor Run will therefore have a questionable impact at best on the watershed – but the restoration work will have a devastating impact on the habitat and tree canopy surrounding the stream.” [Alex Times]
It’s the end of another work week in Alexandria!
There was a lot of crime this week, as police responded to multiple shots fired incidents in the Parker Gray area on September 2. There was also another carjacking in the West End — the latest in a recent uptick that prompted Mayor Justin Wilson to ask the public for help in reducing the number of vehicle-related thefts.
Longtime Alexandrians may remember when Farrah Olivia at 700 S. Washington Street featured outdoor dining under a canopy. Well Farrah Olivia is gone for good, but the outdoor canopy that was once a feature of the Old Town restaurant could be making a comeback.
In 2013, after Farrah Olivia closed, the building’s owner got a permit to destroy the canopy. Seven years later, they’re back and hoping to put it up again to provide a covered seating for customers at the Balducci’s grocery store.
The City Council approved the second entrance for the Potomac Yard Metro station back in April, but now the design of the proposed bridge is headed back through the city process for final approval.
The proposal is something of a compromise attempted to alleviate anger from southern residents who remain outraged that original plans for a full second entrance were cut behind closed doors while residents were told it was still planned.
After some back and forth about the “Old Town” letters, plans to revive the marquee above the former Old Town Theater are headed to the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review tonight (Wednesday).
The site at 815 1/2 King Street is undergoing renovation to turn into a Patagonia — an outdoors clothing and equipment store. The location was build as the Richmond Theater in 1914, according to a staff report, with a permit for “moving pictures, bowling alleys and billiards.” In 1929, a metal marquee was added, which may have been replaced or updated in the 1950s.
The former Pines of Florence and Aftertime Comics buildings at 1300 and 1304 King Street may not stand out much to the casual Old Town visitor, but faded brick buildings have a historic legacy that a new development hopes to bring out again.
The property at 1300 King Street is being redeveloped with an L-shaped building that will have 33 multifamily units over ground-floor retail, Washington Business Journal reported. Though it’s just one building, the project’s design is aimed to appear like two: with a red brick building facing King Street and a grey brick one facing S. Payne Street.
The owners of an Old Town apartment complex want to demolish four 1970s-era rental properties and redevelop them into two multifamily apartment buildings with 474 new apartments.
The Board of Architectural Review will discuss the matter on July 15 before moving their recommendation to the City Council.
