(Updated 5:25 p.m.) The owner of an aging office building in Old Town North wants it converted into a 136-unit apartment building, and credits the decision to the “ongoing and diminished office market and current high vacancy rate.”
The five-story, 112,000-square-foot office building was built in 1983. It’s owned by Principal Life Insurance Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, and managed by PF III Abingdon LLC, an affiliate of the D.C.-based real estate investment firm the Pinkard Group.
“Due to the on-going, diminished office market and current high vacancy rate, the Applicant seeks residential use to repurpose the building,” PF III Abingdon LLC said in its application.
The group wants approval to build a new 43,352-square-foot building wing at the south of the property, which is currently occupied by a surface parking lot. They want to increase the 50-foot height limit to 65 feet to accommodate a mechanical penthouse on top of the building, as well as make lobby, courtyard and other aesthetic improvements. The plan also includes seven on-site affordable housing apartments.
The plan will go to the Planning Commission on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
Despite having a high vacancy rate, the applicant said that traffic in the area will diminish.
“The surrounding streets will operate at a less congested state with residential use as compared to office use,” the applicant said. “No new parking will be constructed as the existing parking is sufficient for the proposed number of residential units.”
The proposal joins a trend of local developers converting outdated offices to residential properties, as roughly a quarter of workers in the D.C. Metro area continue working remotely.
Inova Alexandria Hospital is currently a 318-bed community hospital. Once it opens its new hospital in Landmark in 2028, it’ll be a 192-bed hospital.
At a City Council meeting last week, Councilwoman Alyia Gaskins raised concerns from the community about the loss of beds in the new development. Dr. Rina Bansal, president of Inova Alexandria Hospital, said the decrease in beds is part of making services more efficient.
“On the surface, that seems like a reduction in services,” Bansal said.
Bansal said around 30% of patients using inpatient beds shouldn’t be there.
Year over year, we’ve grown in the number of patients we have in the inpatient beds in the hospital. When you have patients in beds in the hospital, there are patients under observation status that are not considered true inpatients, and you have actual inpatients. About 30%… are observation patients; patients who should not be in inpatient beds
Even though the number looks like a decrease, it’s a number based on significant research from a strategic perspective, from a market share perspective, as well as transition of services from inpatient to outpatient.
Bansal said the number of beds is based on projections.
“Our goal as a system is to continue to grow and care for a larger segment of the community,” Bansal said. “We are growing; we are not going to spend over $1 billion to make our footprint smaller in Alexandria.”
Bansal also noted that the Inova Oakville facility will be ready for occupancy next summer and will be open for business in October 2024. Bansal said the groundbreaking for the Landmark development will be in the summer after the Oakville location ribbon-cutting.
A new Change.org petition opposing the new Washington Wizards/Capitals arena at Potomac Yard is slowly gaining steam.
Last week, Ted Leonsis, the CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment and owner of both teams, announced the move alongside Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson. The $2 billion proposal would mean a new entertainment district for the area, which critics say will worsen traffic and decrease property values.
The petition, posted “on behalf of residents in the Alexandria and NoVA region,” launched on Dec. 13 and has garnered more than 300 signatures. It says that Virginia lawmakers are finalizing a deal that “will bring a new, disruptive entertainment and sports arena to Potomac Yard.”
“We call on our state and local officials to listen to their constituents and stop this initiative from ruining our communities,” the petition states. “Bringing this enormous commercial facility to the area will completely undermine what Alexandria is and the value it brings to residents, homeowners, families, and local businesses. Everything that makes this area great will go away.”
The petition says that the development will:
- Greatly worsen traffic
- Deteriorate integrity of historic communities
- Disrupt lives of families & children
- Decrease property values
- Increase crime
- Diminish small neighborhood dynamic
- Negatively impact natural environment
- Bring noise pollution
- Put taxpayer money into billionaire pockets
A recent ALXnow poll on the subject garnered more than 2,500 votes, with 46% voting that the new arena plans are terrible, 31% voting that it’s a great idea and 23% reserving judgement until more plan details are released.
The development has raised serious transportation concerns, recently from Metro General Manager Randy Clark, who said that the nearby Potomac Yard Metro station can’t handle arena-size crowds.
Updated at 2:45 p.m. New posters are lampooning the recent announcement that the Washington Capitals and Wizards are moving to Potomac Yard by demanding one more thing — for the Washington Commanders to also move to the neighborhood.
“BUILD THE STADIUM COMPLEX,” headlines the five posters, which say, “We must act fast! This mega complex will be suitable for (football, basketball and hockey stick emojis) and T Swift concerts. The streets of Del Ray will become sanctuary for riotous celebrations of multiple championships. We must not lose out to suburban Maryland!! Let’s make our suburb great again!”
This week’s announcement was met with dismay by some Potomac Yard residents who say that moving the Capitals and Wizards will destroy the fabric of the neighborhood.
The poster’s creator, known by the X handle @ArlingtonAF, also created a number of other humorous work in Arlington, most recently with a pro-pickleball posters.
“My official position is, I’m glad Potomac Yard is in Alexandria and not Arlington, and it’s not like Jeff Bezos trying to put a football team in Pentagon City..err.. I mean Nala (National Landing),” @ArlingtonAF told us. “That said, I believe Alexandria is holding a royal flush of trump cards, they should be demanding Leonsis pay for solid gold libraries, and flying school buses, the city has the leverage.”
The Wizards/Capitals move also inspired an AI-generated parody of the proposed $2 billion complex’s transportation infrastructure.
While the whole team @DDOTDC is sad to see the Wizards/Capitals move across the river, as transportation professionals we were excited to see these updated renderings of the arena and surrounding infrastructure from @VaDOTNOVA @GovernorVA: https://t.co/R4sFGTBsYR pic.twitter.com/ovNuNJDZ31
— DDOT Director (Parody) (@DDOTDCDirector) December 15, 2023
Yesterday’s announcement of the possible new arena at Potomac Yard turned a previously scheduled conversation with Mayor Justin Wilson into one of the first public discussions of the contentious project.
The Del Ray Citizens Association was packed with 375 participants on a Zoom call to ask Wilson questions about the new project. Across social media — and at a small protest outside the announcement — concerns focused on the secrecy around the project, car congestion at the site, and the Potomac Yard Metro’s ability to handle the amount of traffic.
Wilson acknowledged that “traffic and transportation is the biggest unknown here.”
While some traffic improvements are planned for Route 1 as part of this project, according to City Manager James Parajon, Wilson said the city’s focus is on discouraging people from driving to the arena.
“The city’s interest in these early discussions has been in keeping the number of parking spaces on this site at a minimum because we do not want a lot of vehicles accessing this use,” Wilson said. “This is intended to be a transit arena, a transit operation, that’s why we invested in a Metro station.”
Wilson said the new Potomac Yard will have a “significant net reduction” in parking spaces at the site.
“The intent is to ensure that we do not have people beyond a small core accessing this by vehicle,” Wilson said. “We will continue to push to keep parking at a minimum.”
But at the same time, Wilson admitted that the current Potomac Yard Metro station isn’t up to the task of handling the types of traffic generated by a sports arena.
“There’s no way the current station can accommodate this use as is,” Wilson said. “A significant chunk of transportation investments will require improvements to the station.”
Wilson said the station, which just opened earlier this year, will need upgrades to handle the volume generated by Capitals and Wizards games.
“[We’ll be] ensuring that the bridges and things like that can handle that capacity of volume,” Wilson said. “WMATA is aware of this discussion.”
For adjacent neighborhoods, Wilson said the city will take another look at parking permit questions that fell off during the pandemic.
“The pandemic and lower levels of office workers made that not as big of an issue, but we did create a [residential parking permit] in Potomac Yard and Potomac Greens,” Wilson said. “We never want to see a situation where our neighborhoods become street parking for this or the Metro in general.”
One of the concerns about the project was funding, but Wilson said this wasn’t going to be a giveaway of taxpayer money to a billionaire.
“I’ve heard quite a bit about concerns that we are providing a billionaire with taxpayer money; that is not what is happening here,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the development will be more than just an arena, it will have a music venue, esports, a practice facility, and more, along with a corporate headquarters for Monumental Sports & Entertainment.
According to Wilson:
Virginia Stadium Authority will be issuing bonds for the construction for the arena. The land and arena will be owned by the public entity; it will be owned by a state agency. The debt borrowed by this public entity will be paid by three streams of money.
First: a private stream. Ted Leonsis will pay, first of all, a $400 million downpayment and a rent payment. That rent payment will be used to pay off that debt.
Second: the city will take a portion of the new tax revenue that comes from this development and we will use it to pay off a portion of this debt borrowed by that authority.
Third: the Commonwealth will take a portion of its tax revenue coming off this use and they will use it to pay off the loans used to construct it.
This is exactly the way we funded the Potomac Yard metro. We funded it using the tax increment of development that happened in Potomac Yard.
We are not using city tax dollars that would be used to pay police officers, firefighters, educators etc. We are using the new money generated by the project to pay off the debt.
Wilson acknowledged that there are some stadiums that are bad investments. In fact, many economic studies suggest sports stadiums don’t deliver on the promised economic impact.
“There are a lot of bad stadium deals around the country,” Wilson said. “That’s why, when we went into this discussion, we had to have private money in this… A public-private partnership should not be entirely public. There are stadium deals around the country, even in this region, that have been entirely public. We, as we went through this process, tried to ensure that we learned the lessons of those failed deals.”
Economic studies commissioned by the city, according to Wilson, said a new arena in Potomac Yard could beat the trend and provide a positive impact.
“Based on the analysis we have done, and we’ve brought in outside entities to analyze the financials of this project, this has the potential to be a very significant net positive for the city’s taxpayers,” Wilson said.
The alternative, Wilson said, is slow growth around the Metro station without a central anchor to spur development.
“If this doesn’t happen, we’ll continue to have a large surface parking lot and a suburban shopping center,” Wilson said. “Virginia Tech will come along, mixed-use projects close to the Metro would potentially happen, but the financial difference is dramatic. That’s why we pursued this, and that’s why we’re presenting it to the public.”
Touching on a few other topics, Wilson noted that the Target at Potomac Yard was always slated for redevelopment, though the store does “extremely well” and it’s likely that there will be another Target there as part of redevelopment.
“That was always an assumption, that we’d, in the future, have a more urban Target,” Wilson said. “What that looks like still needs to be determined in the future.”
Wilson also said a new school site has been in plans for Potomac Yard, but only once the project reaches certain development thresholds. Wilson said the hope is the arena development will be a catalyst for other development in the area.
Many local residents said they were blindsided by the decision, which only emerged as public reports of backroom deals earlier this week despite Senator Mark Warner saying discussions about the move have been ongoing in the higher echelons of power since earlier this summer.
“Obviously, for a lot of residents, this is a surprise; an announcement that nobody was expecting,” Wilson said. “Unfortunately [due to] the nature of competitive economic investments… it has to be confidential at the leadup of the process.”
Wilson said the city will be launching a public engagement process soon.
“Now we have entered the phase where we’ve got to hear from you,” Wilson said. “We have to hear from you about what would make this feasible, what would make this possible, what you think is missing, and how we could make it viable if you don’t feel it is. That’s the conversation we’re going to have over the next year and that’s how we’re going to address some very real concerns about infrastructure.”
Updated 3/27/2024 — The Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards are not, in fact, coming to Potomac Yard
It’s official: the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards are moving to Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood.
The Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP) confirmed the news this morning ahead of a 9 a.m. announcement from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the team’s owner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chairman and CEO Ted Leonsis.
Washington Post first reported the development on Monday. The Post said that Virginia’s Major Economic Investment Project Approval Commission unanimously voted to approve a complex that was tantamount to a mini-city, with a music venue and hotel in addition to the sports center.
The project will be adjacent to the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in the Alexandria portion of National Landing — the collective term for Potomac Yard, Crystal City and Pentagon City.
“After many years of dreaming, many years of discussion, I’m pleased to announce that right here, in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard, we have a plan to unleash a brighter, more extraordinary future,” said Youngkin. “We will build a spectacular $2 billion dollar sports and entertainment district.”
Leonsis said the move to Virginia is a “transformative step forward.”
“I have always believed there is a higher calling in sports — to unify our community, build a lasting legacy over multiple generations, and lift all our neighbors towards a shared sense of prosperity,” Leonsis said. “Today, we deepen that commitment as we enter a phase of rapid expansion in service to our fans, employees, and partners.”
Leonsis said starting a new stadium with a sense of tabula rasa was a big part of Potomac Yard’s appeal.
“When I saw 70 acres and the ability to start with a clean slate… to build a digital first experience, it really is a very romantic but also pragmatic vision that we can’t do anywhere else,” Leonsis said. “I got goosebumps again when I came here a week ago and looked at all of the expansion capabilities.”
As part of the deal, the construction and ownership of the arena would be overseen by a new Virginia stadium authority, and the arena would be leased to Monumental.
“Subject to legislative approval by the Virginia General Assembly, the Entertainment District will break ground in 2025 and open in late 2028,” said a press release from the governor’s office.
This morning’s announcement is being made in a large makeshift tent next door to the Potomac Yard Metro station and near the under-construction Virginia Tech campus.
“Pending completion of agreements and General Assembly and City Council approval, the new Entertainment District will feature an industry-leading arena for both the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, the global business headquarters for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, an expanded esports facility, and a performing arts venue — in addition to new retail, restaurants, and conference and community gathering spaces,” AEDP said.
A map of the planned Monumental development, directly adjacent to the Metro station, also includes a fan plaza, a practice facility for the Capitals and Wizards, and a TV studio for the Monumental Sports Network — formerly NBC Sports Washington. The map also notes the future development of the current Potomac Yard shopping center.
AEDP said the development will still need to go through a community engagement process, with community meetings and workshops, which it said will kick off in early 2024.
In the release, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson called the move a direct result of the work on the Potomac Yard Metro station.
“Alexandria’s ability to attract this ambitious project is a direct result of the success of previous investments made in Potomac Yard and across our City,” said Wilson. “A project this special will help the City realize our collective strategy and the vibrant vision for this neighborhood and for our City as a whole.”
The move comes with a $2 billion investment into the new entertainment district. AEDP said the new arena is estimated to generate 30,000 jobs and a total economic impact of $12 billion over the next few decades.
“This includes millions of dollars over the project term to create affordable housing, offer rental and homeownership assistance, and to invest in transportation improvements and education,” AEDP said.
“This exciting new project is the result of decades of thoughtful long-term strategic planning and a clear vision for growth across Alexandria,” said AEDP President and CEO Stephanie Landrum. “From the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus to the new Potomac Yard-VT Metro Station, Alexandria has created the ideal environment and location for this exciting project.”
Battles ahead in the arena
With large-scale development in Alexandria, though, comes arguments around density and traffic impacts. Some Alexandria residents already aren’t happy with the move, which comes 30 years after Alexandria leaders rebuffed a proposed football stadium for the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders).
“Imagine typical rush hour traffic on the George Washington Parkway and Route 1 and then throw in a playoff hockey game at 7 p.m.,” said Mark Haney, a local resident. “Madness.”
Fresh off a fight over single-family-only zoning, Roy Byrd, Chair of the Coalition for a Livable Alexandria, told WJLA there was real concern about gridlock and traffic along Route 1 that would be exacerbated with the new arena.
I do NOT want this increase in traffic if they decide to build the arena here, omg. This is my literal back yard 😩😩😩 https://t.co/Se7FDcsinu
— An (@annleeee) December 13, 2023
At the meeting, Youngkin’s speech was accompanied by a chorus of boos and jeers from outside of the tent.
“We want you here,” said Wilson.
“We don’t want you here,” someone outside of the tent shouted.
Some protestors gathered outside of the tent.
“There’s been no plans presented to the public,” said one Potomac Yard resident protesting the move. “What about the environmental impact? There are wetlands here. We found out about this plan this week. Where’s the transparency?”
One of the only acknowledgements of the battles ahead came from Senator Mark Warner.
“Our job is to make sure neighborhoods adjacent, here in Potomac Yard and in Del Ray, feel engaged and know their quality of life will be protected and, at the end of the day, their quality of life will be improved,” said Warner. “We’re going to need to be missionaries out in to the community to hear concerns, legitimate and otherwise.”
City Council members said after the announcement that transportation planning would be a major focus of the public planning process following the announcement.
“This is not a done deal yet,” said City Council member Kirk McPike. “There is a lot of negotiation and a lot of discussion, both between the people on the stage but also between Alexandria and our residents. Traffic conditions are going to be a major concern.”
McPike said the city will try to incentivize Metro use over driving, but there will also be improvements to the nearby roads to accommodate drivers.
“We will address transportation issues, a lot of our investments locally will be about improving the roadways and improving the flow of traffic, which we’ll have to do anyway as this area develops out.”
City Council member Sarah Bagley said the project will still need to have a public development special use permit process.
“[This project] is going to go through a similar public process, though the Planning Commission and public hearings,” said Bagley. “The public will have ample opportunities to weigh in with questions about transportation, about housing, about environmental impacts: all the normal SUP and DSUP processes.”
“Nothing here is finalized,” said City Council member Alyia Gaskins. “What we’ve presented is a framework and a concept, now begins the work to engage with our community to figure out what we need to protect against, what are the benefits people want to see, and what is the vision that the community wants integrated into this process.”
City Manager James Parajon said the city will continue to work on transportation planning.
“We have a pretty good game plan for how to manage the traffic and the amazing visitors and residents who will take part,” Parajon said. “It involves several hundred million dollars in improvements we’ll be working with the state on.”
Parajon said Potomac Yard was ideal because it featured multiple routes to get to the station: via driving, bus rapid transit, Metro and bicycle. At the end of the day, though, Parajon said the area was always going to see an uptick in traffic with new development.
“This has always been planned to be a fairly intensive and significant area for activity, which means there is going to be vehicular traffic in this area,” Parajon said. “But this site has been designed to offer maximum choice for people to get to and from the area.”
Parajon also said, like McPike, that the new arena was far from a done deal — though with the presence of every City Council member at the announcement, a future rejection of the arena development seems unlikely.
“What’s occurred is the development of a proposed framework that still requires multiple improvements, multiple approvals, by the legislature and by the city,” Parajon said. “It will be a robust and very involved public engagement process.”
Local residents outside the building had little faith in the city’s promises to address their concerns.
“We will tie this up in litigation,” said Adrien Lopez. “If this is being shoved down our throat without public consultation, we’re going to have to lawyer up and tie this up in litigation if they’re talking about bringing it here by 2028. That’s crazy.”
“Leonsis is worth billions of dollars and could finance his own stadium if he wanted to,” said Patrick Hedger. “If it’s such a great deal, taxpayers shouldn’t be asked to pay for it.”
Upon being told the new sports arena was going to be build next-door, a barista at a nearby Starbucks shook her head and muttered, “oh god.”
The broader impact
The topic came up at a meeting of the Local Emergency Planning Committee, on which ALXnow editor Vernon Miles serves. In the meeting, committee members said the arena could serve as both a hub and hurdle for emergency planning.
“In theory, it does offer a facility for such things as large mass care and large reception centers,” said Red Cross representative Paul Carden said. “At the last inauguration, the convention center in downtown D.C. brought together a medical team to set up 20,000 cots. It was a place to send large numbers of people that might need care.”
Others noted that the facility must be factored into the city’s emergency planning.
“It does add a [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear] element to the city,” said Jerome Cordis from the city’s Public Health Advisory Commission.”How they staff up and what types of threats are things to be considered.”
While the discussion of the merits and costs of a new arena in Potomac Yard are just starting to be discussed among the Alexandria public, D.C. residents have already begun lamenting the loss of the teams — though Washington Wizards fans at least should be used to that.
Goodbye Caps & Wizards. Deal with Virginia being announced tomorrow morning at Potomac Yards (where celebratory announcement tents are being prepared now). A significant blow to DC and its ailing downtown. Sad part is, it could have been avoided if city had acted.
— Tom Sherwood (@tomsherwood) December 12, 2023
I have to see it to believe it. Capital One Arena being an empty spot in Chinatown/Penn Quarter would be devastating to Washington, DC. The #Wizards and #Caps moving to Virginia would be a disaster. #NHL #NBA https://t.co/WkToq27bdB
— Faisal Hassan (@Faazzla) December 11, 2023
What this means for Potomac Yard
Terry Clower, professor of public policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, said the proposed development is a game changer for the city’s Potomac Yard plans.
“Certainly, it is potentially a real changer for the visioning for what they were going to do in Potomac Yard,” Clower told ALXnow. “It is a spectacular amenity for the city of Alexandria and for folks that live nearby who happen to be basketball or hockey fans, or fans of concerts in the venue”
Clower said it remains to be seen whether the new development will bring new economic investment to the region or just cannibalize development from the Gallery Place area.
The impact to watch, Clower said, will also be on how the Monumental Arena affects the plans for Potomac Yard to be a technology hub.
“The interesting piece is — this might change, in some ways not necessarily good or bad — what was originally envisioned for development there,” Clower said. “Now you’re talking about a distinct shift into more entertainment, as opposed to technology businesses and residences.”
Clower also said protests from nearby residents aren’t particularly surprising, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t raising legitimate issues.
“One thing we have in this region whether we’re talking about data centers and arenas, you will definitely have folks who will bet in that ‘not in my backyard’ category,” Clower said. “But there are legitimate concerns. Traffic is not easy even today.”
Lastly, Clower said there’s little hope for a change to the Alexandria Wizards and the Alexandria Capitals.
“I don’t think there will be a name change,” Clower said. “This is not like moving them to some outer ring suburb, this is very much the team identity. It still remains a regional asset, in large part because they’re doing it at what amounts to an inner ring suburb Metro.”
The press release from the governor’s office is below.
Alexandria’s Planning Commission endorsed a plan to rezone 301 N. Fairfax Street, despite concerns from the divided Commission that rezoning without prior planning represents bad civic practice.
The plan is to replace the empty three-story office building with a four-story apartment building with underground parking and a rooftop terrace.
While the proposal generated considerable public discussion about the architecture being out of sync with historic Old Town, most of the discussion on the dais was about concerns regarding the city’s bureaucratic process.
“Our purview is not architecture,” said Commissioner Mindy Lyle. “We should not even be discussing it at this stage; it gets refined through the BAR: that is their purview.”
Commissioner David Brown said the proposed redevelopment is the latest in a trend of buildings being rezoned and redeveloped without being a part of any kind of broader plan on the city’s part.
“My insane observation is that planning must precede zoning,” Brown said. “I’ve been saying that over and over again and still getting the same result. Zoning is allowed to precede planning.”
Brown said many of the concerns about the development during the public comment could have been addressed and reviewed as part of a public planning process rather than as a back-and-forth during a zoning decision.
“We’re doing the rezoning before we do the planning,” Brown said. “As I have made clear on many occasions, I’m not a fan of lot-by-lot rezoning.”
Brown’s concerns carried some weight with others on the Planning Commission as well.
“I think this issue of targeted master plan amendments facilitating only one thing, one parcel-specific rezoning, is a worrisome mechanism,” said Commissioner Stephen Koenig.
The majority of the Planning Commission, however, supported the project as a positive replacement to the existing office building.
“This is not a close call for me to support this case tonight for a number of reasons,” said Planning Commission Chair Nathan Macek. “Ideally we would have a small area plan… but we don’t have the staff capacity for that, we don’t have it in the work plan, we don’t have the ability to say let’s fit it in within the next reasonable time period to do this, we don’t have the luxury to do that to be able to carry this forward.”
Macek said rejecting the rezoning could kill the project and leave the parcel as an office building.
“To deny this or not let it move forward probably kills the project as opposed to forcing the thoughtful planning we ideally want here,” Macek said.
In general, Macek said the residential redevelopment represents a more positive benefit for the city than an empty office or commercial space.
“Even if we wanted to hold out and say this needs to be commercial, we don’t have the leverage for that because nobody wants to build a damn office building in this part of the city,” Macek said. “That’s just not a viable use. To me, the only path forward is that the highest and best use of this site at 2.5 [floor area ratio] is residential. I don’t think we need a small area plan amendment to support that.”
Vice Chair Melissa McMahon indicated earlier in the meeting that she was on the fence about the project, but eventually said she agreed the current, concrete plans represented more of a benefit to the city.
“A theoretical future plan isn’t worth as much as the effort that a property owner is willing to put into their asset,” McMahon said. “That’s true if you’re a small business person or a homeowner putting a deck onto their house.”
The project narrowly received the Planning Commission endorsement with a 4-3 vote. It will head to the City Council for review on Saturday, Dec. 16 — in case you were worried long and argumentative Saturday meetings at City Council were over now that Zoning for Housing has been decided.
Macek also took a swipe, during the discussion, at Alexandria’s Board of Architectural Review, which has recently gotten into clashes with the City Council and Planning Commission:
I do think, and I want to say specifically, I’m concerned with the BAR staying within its swim lane with respect to density and bolt and scale calls. When they’re saying a project is too large and doesn’t fit, that’s really not their call, in my opinion, any more than it is for us to get into the brickwork and the architectural details.
Their charge is to take the density that’s before them, that’s approved by the Planning Commission and City Council, and make the best architectural design.
We need to revisit this process of sending stuff to the BAR in advance, which is supposed to be in an advisory and complementary way to move projects forward, but it’s becoming a hindrance when the BAR doesn’t understand their role is the architectural details and not the size requirements. I’m concerned we have a broken process because we have a board that doesn’t understand its role.
(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) After more than 200 years in business, Alexandria’s Smoot Lumber yard is shutting down today.
The Alexandria-area supplier of mouldings, doors and windows has been a staple for local builders since it was founded in 1822, and now its owner Builders FirstSource says that customers should visit its lumber yards in Manassas, Manassas Park, Springfield and in Waldorf, Maryland.
Builders FirstSource is at a “juncture of change,” Market Manager James Barbes wrote in a Nov. 29 letter to customers. Barbes did not say what the future holds for the sprawling property at 6295-20 Edsall Road.
“After thorough consideration, we are announcing the integration of our Smoot Lumber location with our other local Builders FirstSource and TW Perry locations. This strategic consolidation allows us to streamline operations while continuing to provide you with the exceptional service and premium Smoot moulding profiles you’ve come to rely on.”
Barbes continued, “Our commitment to Alexandria’s rich heritage remains unwavering, and we are pleased to assure you that a line of historical Smoot moulding profiles will continue to be available.”
Barbes also said, “the experienced and dedicated team members from Smoot Lumber will seamlessly transition to new roles within the market, ensuring that your interactions with us remain as dependable and customer-focused as ever.”
The transition isn’t seamless for all employees. Ed King has worked at the lumber yard for 27 years, 14 as a manager. He was told on Wednesday that his last day would be on Dec. 30, after he helps with the transition.
“I ain’t missed a day in 27 years,” King said. “I know every stick of wood in this joint.”
King said he was offered a severance package and will take the next six months off.
“I’m going to take a vacation and then decide what’s next after that,” King said. “I deserve a little break, but I’m sad to see it go. This has been my home away from home.”
Mike Dameron, owner of Alexandria-based Windmill Hill Home Design Build, said it’s a big loss for local builders.
“In one way or another, Smoot Lumber has been an integral part of the local and regional construction supply community for longer than any of us have been in business,” Dameron said. “It will be a major loss to see them leave the city.”
A brief history of Smoot Lumber is below.
Founded in 1822 in Alexandria, Virginia under the name J.H.D. Smoot, Smoot has been through many changes over the years, including name changes such as W.A. Smoot, Smoot Lumber & Coal, Smoot and Co., Smoot Lumber, and now part of the BMC family as BMC Smoot Lumber. Over the years, Smoot has sold lumber, coal, sand, gravel, salt and plaster, with the mainstay being custom high-end millwork and mouldings.
While Lincoln and Douglas were holding their great debates of 1858, Smoot Lumber had already been supplying millwork to many of the most important buildings in our nation’s capital. After the destruction of the Civil War, Smoot was there to help rebuild Washington and Alexandria. And when the National Park Service needed to find clear fir boards in order to build extra bleachers for President Kennedy’s funeral processions, Smoot was honored to answer the call and play a small part in history.
Over the years, Smoot has also worked on other important historical landmarks to include The White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian, and Mount Vernon.
A new residential development that created a stir among some Old Town residents is heading to Alexandria’s Planning Commission next week.
The new development at 301 N. Fairfax Street — around two blocks west of Founders Park and two blocks north of City Hall — would create 48 new residential units, along with underground parking with 67 spaces and 10,065 square feet of private open space. Two of those units will be set aside as affordable housing.
The new development has a gross floor area of 97,556 square feet and is four stories tall, replacing a three-story office building constructed in 1977.
The staff report notes that the building went through some modifications to reduce the overall massing of the building and look more similar to other nearby townhouses.
“Some members of the community also expressed concern about the amount of parking,” the staff report said. “It is noted that this project is providing more parking than is required, and residents of the building will not be eligible for Residential Parking Permits (RPPs).”
The project went through community meetings earlier this year and three rounds at the Board of Architectural Review (BAR). The project has a staff recommendation of “approval with conditions” — though the BAR was less enthusiastic.
“[It’s] an improvement, but given this elevation and the scale of the nearby buildings, I think it’s too massive,” said BAR Member Theresa Del Ninno. “I would not be able to support this proposal with the current massing.”
The project is scheduled for review at a Planning Commission meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 5, followed by a City Council vote on Saturday, Dec. 16.
After years of stalled planning, the Washington Business Journal first reported that Robinson Terminal North redevelopment could be revived.
The Journal reported that a new development concept plan has been filed with the city’s planning department. The plan will include multifamily residential, ground-floor retail and a restaurant, with mixed-use residential buildings straddling N. Union Street.
The Rooney Properties website said the goal is to complete the project by 2025.
Robinson Terminal North was previously used as a warehouse for the Washington Post until 2013, according to Alexandria Living Magazine, and the Washington Business Journal noted that development plans surfaced in 2015, 2017 and 2019 but never moved forward.
Robinson Terminal North was once the site of warehouses before being torn down to make way for RiverRenew work. The northern edge of the property is planned as a promenade with benches and space for programming.
The Journal noted that Robinson Terminal North has long been a thorn in the side of the city’s efforts to make a comprehensive, walkable waterfront.
Image via Google Maps
