Without getting into specifics, Alexandria’s new Mayor Alyia Gaskins says that the city has to be intentional and take “big, bold swings at economic development.”
More than 80% of the city’s revenue comes from residential real estate taxes, versus about 19% from commercial properties. The issue was a major political conversation from council candidates leading up to the Democratic primary in June and general election last month.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins and the new City Council were sworn into office on Thursday (Jan. 2), ushering in a new era of city governance with the new year.
Gaskins is the first Black woman to be elected mayor of the city. She stood alongside her husband and two children and took the oath of office from Clerk of the Court Greg Parks onstage at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center (4915 E. Campus Drive) at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus.
Alexandria’s new City Council will get sworn into office today.
Here’s what you need to know about the installation ceremony.
The Alexandria School Board on Thursday unanimously directed the superintendent to start a naming process for the athletic field complex at Alexandria High School’s Minnie Howard Campus, and to consider naming it in honor of former Mayor Kerry Donley.
The field complex is under construction until summer 2025. It includes a synthetic turf field for lacrosse, field hockey and soccer, as well as basketball and futsol courts, bleachers and a walking path.
While $500 a month may not have been enough to bring participants out of poverty, an assessment of the city’s guaranteed income pilot program found that it had a substantial impact on participants.
The program, labelled Alexandria’s Recurring Income for Success and Equity (ARISE) in a bit of a backronym, was funded in 2021 for $3 million out of the American Rescue Plan Act. The program gave 170 low-income Alexandria residents $500 per month for 24 months to assess the impact it would have on their lives. In June, the program recieved another $550,000 from the City Council to extend the program to June 2025.
A 110-unit condominium building was approved in Alexandria’s Carlyle neighborhood by City Council on Saturday.
City Council unanimously approved Paradigm Development Company’s plan to build the 13-story, 159-foot-tall building on a 22,000-square-foot vacant parcel of land next door to its 26-story, 420-unit apartment building Meridian 2250 at Eisenhower Station.
Alexandria could be loosening up on its fairly restrictive sign ordinance soon.
The changes are broad, but mainly focus around providing more flexibility in the city’s ordinance, increasing some of the limits, and creating an administrative process (as opposed to having to go to City Council) for some sign approvals.
Surrounded by city leaders, Alexandria’s new Police Chief Tarrick McGuire was sworn in on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
McGuire is the third permanent chief of the Alexandria Police Department in three years. The city’s Chief Circuit Court Judge Lisa Kemler swore him in onstage at the amphitheater of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Old Town.
An Azerbaijani bakery and cafe has applied for a change of ownership for the former Chewish Deli at 1640 King Street.
Despite stellar reviews, Sharbat Bakery & Cafe closed its D.C. location earlier this year. Now owners Ilhama Safarova and Natavan Aliyeva are asking the city to also approve adding outdoor tables and chairs to the proposed shop.
An “Asian and Japanese restaurant” wants to open in the former Red Lobster on S. Van Dorn Street.
The owners of Yami Buffett recently filed a special use permit application for change of ownership and increased seating at 555 S. Van Dorn Street. That’s the former longtime home of Red Lobster, which abruptly closed on Aug. 31.
It was quite a weekend in Alexandria.
Alexandria’s Scottish Christmas Walk weekend started Friday (Dec. 6), where hundreds attended the decadent annual Taste of Scotland fundraiser for the Campagna Center at The Atrium building in Old Town.
