Want to find out what’s happening with crime in Alexandria? A new app created by a lifelong city resident does just that.
Last year, freelance app developer Trevor Weir launched AVAware on the iOS App Store. After a free week-long trial, a $3.99 monthly fee kicks in, giving users an ad-free opportunity to explore publicly available information on all manner of Part 1 crime events occurring in the city.
Alexandria is seeking feedback on its 15-year plan to address affordable housing issues. Once approved, the Housing 2040 Master Plan will provide City Council and staff with clear goals, strategies, and direction on the city’s housing plans. The city is hosting an open house this Monday (Sept. 8) to get feedback on Housing 2040 draft recommendations for landlord-tenant rights and resources, and homeownership programs in the city. The event will be held at the Minnie Howard Campus of Alexandria City High School (3775 W. Braddock Road) from 6 to 7 p.m., and registration is encouraged.
The current master plan is set to expire in 2025. The new plan will require a 2024 housing needs assessment from the city, and input from residents to “establish new housing affordability goals and examine housing policies, programs, and tools to support all Alexandria residents and workers,” according to the city.
Alexandria developer Windmill Hill is seeking the city’s approval for a three-story apartment building with ground-level retail in a parking lot in Old Town.
The developer has submitted a concept review for a new building at 220-224 S. Peyton St. for evaluation by the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday.
A new petition has been launched against part of Alexandria’s plan to combat flooding in Old Town.
The Change.org petition opposing the installation of a two-story pump station at Waterfront Park to recirculate floodwaters back to the Potomac River has garnered 275 signatures so far. The organizer wrote in the petition that the pump station “is destructive, unnecessary, wasteful, and in violation of public trust.”
Hundreds rallied and marched against the Trump administration in Old Town on Thursday night (July 17).
The event at Judy Guse-Noritake Park (600 N. Henry Street) joined hundreds of Good Trouble Lives On rallies across the country, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the death of Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), with participants holding signs and speaking against the Trump administration. The civil rights icon was renowned for his legacy of nonviolent action in defense of democracy.
Alexandria celebrated its 276th and the U.S.’s 249th birthday in style along the Potomac River at Oronoco Bay Park on Saturday (July 12).
Thousands attended the annual event. For about four hours, the park was turned into a maze of beach blankets, lawn chairs, and barefoot kids with lightsabers and bubble guns. Flanked onstage by City Council and city staff, Mayor Alyia Gaskins and Poet Laureate Maria Cristina Donoso made brief remarks before the program was turned over to the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, which wrapped up in time for a spectacular fireworks show (see video below).
The Alexandria City Council, this week, approved the three-year extension of an expired plan to build hundreds of residential units in Alexandria’s Landmark area.
The three-year development special use permit for the 8-acre Landmark Overlook project expired in February. Council initially approved the plan in 2022 by West End Development Associates to build 450 residential units in seven townhomes and two multifamily apartment buildings on the eight-acre site at 5901, 5951, and 5999 Stevenson Avenue and 2 South Whiting Street.
What is your hope for the future of Duke Street?
That’s one of the many questions the city is asking as it ramps up 18-24 months of planning for the Duke Street Land Use Plan, a document to guide city officials in the development of the Duke Street Corridor from the former Landmark Mall to Alexandria Union Station.
A sweeping redevelopment promises to bring fresh amenities and improved access to Eugene Simpson Stadium Park, but staff at the Alexandria YMCA say that the project will have a severe impact on the nonprofit.
Plans presented at a recent community meeting reveal that 53 city-owned parking spaces in front of the YMCA, located at 420 E. Monroe Avenue, have been designated as a construction area. The actual construction of the project, which was unanimously approved by the City Council in 2023, is scheduled to begin this month and is expected to be completed by September 2026, with a phased reopening of the park starting in August 2026.
Alexandria’s government offices will be closed on Friday, July 4, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t have a good time.
Here’s what you need to know about city services on Independence Day.
The Alexandria Health Department lost dedicated federal COVID-19 grant funding earlier this year, and now the City Council will vote on a proposal for various health initiatives.
AHD is requesting one-time funding of $120,510 from the city to support the city’s Healthy Homes Action Plan for the current fiscal year, in addition to community health outreach, continued resource funding for immigrant and refugee programs, and expansion of the ALX Breathes program. The Healthy Homes program brings together dozens of city organizations to recommend home improvements.
