A local Indian restaurant founded by an Old Town couple is celebrating the start of a new chapter in Alexandria.
After about 18 months of planning and renovations, Sundara Indian Restaurant & Cafe is reopening in a new space on the ground floor of 1320 Braddock Place in Suite 105. It’s a hard-earned milestone for the business, which grappled with unexpected delays and rising renovation costs to reopen after departing from an Arlington VFW post in summer 2024, following a zoning dispute.
The Alexandria Planning Commission will review a three-year extension in October for a controversial 180-unit apartment building near the Braddock Road Metro station that has faced years of delays and community opposition.
In June, the city council deferred a decision to extend the DSUP for the one-acre project at 727 N. West St. until its city council public hearing on October 18. The deferral gave developer West Street Acquisitions several months to discuss stormwater issues with the city and conduct more community conversations with neighbors. The plan will first go to the Planning Commission for review on Oct. 9.
Alexandria City Council deferred a decision to extend the development special use permit (DSUP) for a seven-story, 180-unit mixed-use apartment building across the street from the Braddock Road Metro station.
The Council, last Saturday, unanimously extended the DSUP for the one-acre project at 727 N. West Street until its public hearing on October 18 (Saturday), giving developer West Street Acquisitions a few months to discuss stormwater issues with the city and conduct more community conversations with neighbors.
The Alexandria City Council has mixed feelings about serving as a cosigner for the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s plan to keep its senior residents in the city.
Faced with a $40 million budget shortfall, ARHA abandoned plans to replace the aging 11-story, 170-unit Ladrey Senior High-Rise with a six-to-seven-story 270-unit L-shaped building. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development subsequently ended its operating support for building management and maintenance, issuing vouchers for the relocation of Ladrey’s residents by the end of the year.
With 167 senior residents and a police officer being forced out of the Ladrey Senior High-Rise by the end of the year, Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority CEO Erik C. Johnson says there’s actually an opportunity to capitalize on the situation.
“This comes down to whether or not the city is going to support seniors the way that we want to support seniors,” Johnson told ALXnow. “We’re not asking the city to finance it, nor is the city taking a first position loss in the event that something goes wrong.”
Plans to redevelop the Ladrey Senior Hi-Rise in Old Town have been deemed “infeasible” by the property owner, the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has “terminated operating support for building management and maintenance” due to delays in the redevelopment, and now ARHA plans on moving more than 150 residents out of the 1970s-era building by the end of the year. Consequently, ARHA wants the city to back loans to acquire The Alate (1122 First Street), a recently built senior housing apartment building in the Braddock neighborhood, for the relocation of Ladrey Senior Hi-Rise residents.
The developer of a seven-story, 180-unit apartment building across the street from the Braddock Road Metro station is asking the city for an extension of its development special use permit.
West Street Acquisitions says a number of important steps have been made on the one-acre project at 727 N. West Street, which was denied by the City Council in March 2021 and then approved two months later. After some delays, including a legal battle with a neighbor citing city regulations prohibiting the Council from reviewing a denied application for a year, work on the four-year-old project has been slow, and the development special use permit is about to expire.
An Alexandria man is being held without bond after allegedly stealing a number of bicycles, breaking into an apartment in Old Town to steal a purse, and then using a debit card at a nearby convenience store.
The 54-year-old suspect was arrested on May 8 and charged with possession of burglary tools, entering a dwelling with intent to commit larceny, and multiple counts of destruction of property, trespassing, and petit larceny.
Three teenagers have charged in the fatal shooting of Alexandria resident Kwakia Frazier and wounding two others, the Alexandria Police Department announced today.
A 16-year-old and two 17-year-old suspects have each been charged with murder by mob and two counts of malicious wounding by mob.
Update 1/9 — The Health Department is postponing the event to Saturday, Jan. 18, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. due to impending snow on Saturday
The Alexandria Health Department is hosting a “Walk & Talk” this weekend in the Braddock neighborhood to talk about health issues in the community.
Cocktail bar Captain Gregory’s is pulling up anchor and sailing into Hotel AKA Alexandria (625 First Street) next month while its main location undergoes renovations.
The bar said on Instagram that it will set up shop every Thursday through Saturday in January at Hotel AKA.
