Another week down in Alexandria.
In terms of stories, this one was a little more optimistically defined by new openings. Wegmans announced its Carlyle location is opening in May, bringing an end to the area’s notorious food desert (the closest grocery stores are the Whole Foods and Giant on Duke Street). New smaller-scale shops are looking to move in as well, like a new wine and coffee shop coming to Old Town.
New affordable housing developments have a positive — if very slight — impact on housing values in Alexandria, according to a new report prepared for the City of Alexandria by the Urban Institute.
The report was presented to the Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee at a meeting earlier this week. The findings were presented by Christina Stacy, principal research associate for the Urban Institute. The presentation did start, though, with a notable disclaimer that Stacy is a board member at the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHDC), one of the most active affordable housing developers in Alexandria.
One of the most defining architectural features of places like Old Town and Georgetown are the buildings with residential units above first and second-story shops.
Now, after the city put together ordinances to more clearly regulate and refine policies for accessory dwelling units (ADU), the city is taking another look at how the units-over-retail type of development fits into the broader scope of housing regulations.
A pair of buildings on King Street, in the heart of Old Town, could be demolished and transformed into a new mixed-use development.
Owner Silverman Group filed an application to the city to redevelop 615 and 621 King Street as a single mixed-use building, the Washington Business Journal first reported.
Construction on the Potomac Yard Metro station is 70% complete, and Mayor Justin Wilson said he’s knocking on wood in hope that it will open this fall.
On Tuesday, City Council received an update on the massive project.
Alexandria residents and workers are planning to rally at a City Council meeting tonight (Tuesday) to try and push the city to demand developers of the former GenOn power plant to go beyond current affordability plans.
In a release, local union and tenant organizations said the city should require commitments to higher-wage jobs and more housing.
The Landmark redevelopment has a new name: West End Alexandria.
Developer Foulger-Pratt officially unveiled the new name earlier this week, though it was first reported in the Washington Business Journal in late January.
A local working group has been making its way through plans to update and improve Fort Ward Park, and last week the project got a timeline for when the public could see some of those changes.
Following the Civil War, the fort was home to a sizable Black community that was later pushed out by the City of Alexandria in the name of obtaining park space and historical preservation of the Civil War-era fort.
Busy week with big things afoot in Alexandria.
Plans for the GenOn power plant and the redevelopment of Minnie Howard are moving forward through the city review process, with both projects working out the details on how to make them more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly.
Plans for the GenOn plant redevelopment aim to swap out the area’s current Chernobyl-chic with a Dutch design concept to prioritize pedestrians and bicyclists over cars.
In a presentation to the Parks and Recreation Commission last week, representatives from Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) said the two main routes through the planned development will be split between one intended for vehicle traffic and one that prioritizes pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The latter is called a woonerf and has been implemented in the Netherlands since the 1970s.
The Electra America Hospitality Group sees Alexandria’s red brick facade and wants it painted black.
The Holiday Inn Express in North Old Town could be rebranded to Hotel AKA as the hotel appears to move into an emo phase. A request for alterations to the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) includes a number of changes for the hotel at 625 First Street and 510 Second Street, perhaps most notably a new coat of black paint on the brick facade.
