Interior demolition work started last week at a new French cafe in Old Town.
Aug. 28 was the last day for public comments on Maman Coffee Baking Kitchen’s special use permit application (SUP) to operate a cafe, bakery, restaurant, and accessory event space at 701 King Street. The building is located at the corner of King and N. Washington Streets, and is the former home to Foxtrot, which closed in 2024.
A proposal to build a 275-unit workforce housing multifamily apartment building on the southwest portion of the sprawling WestEnd development is heading to the Alexandria Planning Commission.
Plans for the seven-story development from landowner Foulger Pratt and its partner Landmark Holdings LLC call for a seven-story structure with 210 parking spaces (a reduction from the 327 required spaces), with 80% of the units available for between 80% and 120% area median income. The proposal heads to the Planning Commission on Thursday, Oct. 9.
The owners of a historic townhouse in Old Town with ground floor retail want to expand the property with a 700-square-foot addition and use it as their primary residence.
Plans to redevelop 107 N. Fairfax Street will head to the Planning Commission on Thursday, Oct. 9. The four-story townhouse was built in 1800, and is located in the city’s Old and Historic District. It’s located directly across from City Hall (301 King Street), and the first floor is home to dessert and coffee shop Dolci Gelati.
Old Town Sandwich shop will reopen soon after undergoing a two-week interior renovation.
The longstanding business at 127 S. Peyton Street closed for interior work on Friday, Aug. 22, and will reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 2, according to a note left on the front door.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held next month for the construction of a memorial recognizing slave laborers who built Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS).
Black slave laborers built the seminary in the early 19th century, and for the last five years, the VTS Reparations Program has awarded millions to direct descendants of those workers. At 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, VTS will host a free gala at Coffield Refectory (3720 Bishop Walker Circle) celebrating the descendants with dinner, dancing, and a display of genealogical research compiled to date. The memorial groundbreaking ceremony will be held the following day, Sept. 6, at 12:30 p.m.
The owner of the former Vulcan Materials property near the Van Dorn Metro station is looking to sell, as a new hotel, retail, hundreds of new homes, and a park are being built on the site.
Last year, the city approved a plan to redevelop the site into an 11-story, 256-room hotel with 4,500 square feet of retail space, 323 new townhomes and condos, and a 4.4-acre park. The development promised to be “the most vibrant, new residential development that this area has seen in several years,” according to marketing materials released by Maryland-based Cohn Property Group (CPG) and first reported by the Washington Business Journal.
Developer JBG Smith will soon discuss an updated proposal to build a mix of multifamily, townhome and committed affordable housing across from the Potomac Yard Metro station.
Next Wednesday (Aug. 27), the Potomac Yard Design Advisory Committee (PYDAC) will review updated plans for Landbays G and H (see rendering above),
Alexandria is asking for public feedback on plans to upgrade crosswalks near schools in Arlandria and Del Ray.
The city’s Crossing Improvements Phase II would transform the sidewalks around Charles Barrett Elementary School (1115 Martha Custis Drive) and George Washington Middle School (1005 Mount Vernon Avenue). The deadline to submit feedback on the plans is Friday, Aug. 29.
Welcome to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s our recap of the most-read stories.
Our top story this week is on two Alexandria business owners charged with possession of an illegal gambling device for operating skill games. The news marks the first indictments against Alexandria business owners for the devices. Dozens of skill game machines operate at multiple convenience and grocery stores in the West End and Arlandria neighborhoods, despite police hand-delivering warning letters to more than a dozen offending businesses. Skill games were outlawed as illegal gaming by the Virginia legislature in 2020, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter told ALXnow that his office is assessing “all potential investigative leads.”
Virginia Tech plans to renovate its Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center in Old Town to improve accessibility with a new elevator, sprinkler system, and handicapped-accessible ramp, according to a request going before the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday, Sept. 3.
The building at 1001 Prince Street was loaned to Virginia Tech by Alexandria in 1980, and the school bought it in 1989, according to city records.
A quiet off-the-beaten-path area just off King Street in Old Town is getting an upgrade.
Simpson Development Company recently filed plans from Louis Barbieri, Cole & Denny Architects to renovate the entry vestibule at 100 N. Pitt Street and the small, rear plaza adjacent to 115. N. St. Asaph Street in Old Town. The request for alterations and signage will be presented to the city’s Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday, September 3.
