It’s been another fast week in Alexandria! Here’s our recap of the most-read stories over the last several days.
Our Tuesday (June 24) story on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development taking over the National Science Foundation’s headquarters (2415 Eisenhower Avenue) garnered more than 125,000 views, making it the most-read story of the year. While bringing in more than 2,700 HUD workers, the move will also displace about 1,800 NSF employees over the next two years.
Repairs to the overpass bridge linking Duke Street and Ben Brenman Park, near Cameron Station, are scheduled to begin this month, and the city is hosting a community meeting on the project.
The city estimates that the $2.5 million repair project will be completed by November, and it includes periodic lane closures on Breman Park Drive and Duke Street near the bridge during construction hours, according to the city. The project schedule is also contingent on the weather.
Shake Shack is cooking up plans to open in a former bank in Old Town.
The burger chain filed permit requests to open at the former Burke and Herbert Bank at 621 King Street last December. Shake Shack now seeks approval for new signage and has included a new rendering of the building exterior (see below) in their application heading to the Board of Architectural Review.
What a week it’s been in Alexandria. Here’s our recap of top stories.
ALXnow had its highest single-day visitor count ever on Thursday (June 12), with more than 53,000 views, following a report that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to deploy tactical units to Northern Virginia and four major cities across the country.
A developer is asking for an extension after permits expired earlier this year on a plan to build hundreds of residential units to Alexandria’s Landmark area.
City Council, in 2022, approved the plan 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. The three-year development special use permit for the project expired in February and now applicant West End Development Associates wants three more years to finish the project.
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.
Get your lawn chairs ready, because Alexandria’s birthday celebration is right around the corner.
On Saturday, July 12, the city will celebrate its 276th and the U.S.’s 249th birthdays along the waterfront at Oronoco Bay Park (100 Madison Street). The free party includes food trucks, live performances by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, appearances by the town crier, poet laureate, and Mayor Alyia Gaskins, as well as cupcakes for thousands of attendees.
Things are about to get a little cozier for Alexandria soccer players.
The Alexandria Soccer Association is providing the city with eight bench shelters (four sets of two), valued at $58,520, to be installed at the soccer fields at Ben Brenman Park (4800 Brenman Park Drive) and Limerick Field (1800 Limerick Street). On Tuesday (June 10), the City Council will consider accepting the KWIK Goal bench shelters and authorizing City Manager Jim Parajon to finalize the donation.
Some noticeable exterior changes at Wells Fargo Bank at 330 N. Washington Street are heading to the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review.
The bank is requesting permission from the city to remove its drive-thru window, replace a window with a night deposit box, and make other modifications to the 20,000-square-foot building.
Plans to partially demolish the former Big Wheel Bikes property in Old Town and replace it with a taco restaurant are heading to Alexandria’s Board of Architectural Review.
On June 5 (Thursday), the Board will assess a permit to demolish and a certificate of appropriateness for proposed alterations for the property located a block away from the Potomac River.
A plan to convert a former motel on N. Washington Street into a multifamily building and a townhouse is heading to the Board of Architectural Review on Thursday (June 5).
Maryland-based PT Blooms is asking the Board of Architectural Review to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness to redevelop the property at 802 and 808 N. Washington Street into The Whitley — Phase 2, a 48-unit building with one- to three-bedroom condos. That’s the former Towne Motel property, which closed in 2017 and didn’t reopen as a Holiday Inn Express as planned.
