development | ALXnow

Morning Notes

Published February 7, 2020 at 7:00AM

Rainy day in Old Town (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Gusty Winds Expected Today — “The Flood Watch has been cancelled, but now the wind is the next possible hazard… The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. Gusts of up to 50 mph are expected.” [ARLnow]

Architects Chosen for Potomac Yard Redevelopment — “Five architectural firms have been selected to design the nine buildings that are planned for the first phase of the North Potomac Yard overhaul, including the Virginia Tech campus. The use of multiple firms, similar to the choice made by the developers of The Wharf on D.C.’s Southwest waterfront, is meant to avoid having a neighborhood of buildings that look too alike.” [Washington Business Journal]

News

Wilson: Affordable Housing Legislation in Richmond ‘Well-Meaning’ but Misses Mark

By James Cullum

Published February 3, 2020 at 10:55AM

Andrew Adkins, an affordable housing neighborhood in Braddock (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

It’s widely accepted that localities throughout Virginia face an affordable housing crisis, but is the new Democratic majority in Richmond missing the mark on addressing the issue?

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said that a swath of bills addressing the issue hurts rather than helps. Wilson, in a recent op-ed in the Alexandria Gazette Packet, instead recommended an increase in state funding for affordable housing instead of bills forcing localities to meet development and zoning benchmarks.

Opinion

Poll: What Do You Think of the City Council’s Church Decision?

By ALXnow.com

Published February 3, 2020 at 9:40AM

Proposed Alexandria Presbyterian Church (photo via City of Alexandria)

Last week the Alexandria City Council voted unanimously to uphold a decision by the Planning Commission to allow a church on W. Braddock Road to expand.

The Alexandria Presbyterian Church’s expansion has faced increasingly pitched opposition from around two dozen neighboring households who worried about increased traffic and the size of the building (~23,000 square feet).

News

Behind the Scenes of the Slow Race to Finish Virginia Tech’s Potomac Yard Campus

By Vernon Miles

Published January 28, 2020 at 3:30PM | Updated January 28, 2020 at 4:54PM

Planned Virginia Tech innovation campus in Potomac Yard (courtesy Virginia Tech)

(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) Virginia Tech has to hit 750 master’s degree graduates per year by the end of the decade in a school that hasn’t even been built yet if it wants to hold onto state funding for the project.

During a panel discussion at Agenda Alexandria last night, some of the local leaders working on Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Potomac Yard opened up about the slew of opportunities and challenges the school will face over the next few years.

News

Open House This Evening to Offer First Look at Arlandria/Del Ray Plan

By Vernon Miles

Published January 27, 2020 at 11:55AM

Historic Del Ray (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The City of Alexandria is hosting an open house this evening to help gather community input for plans to shape Arlandria and Del Ray.

The open house is scheduled to be held from 5-8 p.m. at Casa Chirilagua (4109 Mt. Vernon Avenue). The event will be an opportunity for people to share their thoughts before the start of the formal planning process later this year, according to the city website.

News

City Council Unanimously Upholds North Ridge-Adjacent Presbyterian Church Expansion

By Vernon Miles

Published January 27, 2020 at 10:45AM

Proposed Alexandria Presbyterian Church (photo via City of Alexandria)

Opponents of the Alexandria Presbyterian Church’s expansion went into Saturday’s public hearing knowing it was an uphill fight, and ultimately the City Council unanimously struck down the appeal.

The City Council voted unanimously to uphold the Planning Commission’s ruling in November that Alexandria Presbyterian Church could expand by-right from a 3,400 square foot building that can’t hold its congregation to a 22,794 square foot gothic-inspired church.

News

Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published January 27, 2020 at 8:00AM

Running on the Potomac Yard trail. (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

MOMs Shopping Center Set for Redevelopment — A “D.C. developer filed preliminary plans with Alexandria earlier this month for the project, looking to completely overhaul a Mount Vernon Avenue shopping center near Four Mile Run Park, now called Del Ray North. It’s currently home to a MOM’s Organic Market, but has seen a variety of retail vacancies recently.” [Washington Business Journal]

Port City Planning 9th Anniversary Celebration — “Time to celebrate 9 awesome years of brewing with the only way we know how: a COLOSSAL release! For our ninth anniversary we are introducing COLOSSAL IX a Weizenbock to the COLOSSAL lineup.” [Port City Brewing]

News

Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published January 24, 2020 at 6:00AM

A VRE train heading south through Potomac Yard (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Suggestion of Affordable Housing at School Sets Listserv Ablaze — “A contractor for Alexandria’s public schools set off an online firestorm by accidentally including a rendering of an apartment building with affordable units in a presentation about modernization plans for an elementary school… the mistake occasioned a ‘3 day+ rager‘ about affordable housing, racism, and–because this is Alexandria–dockless scooters, the halal chicken slaughterhouse, and a ‘road diet’ imposed on a different leafy neighborhood.” [Washingtonian]

Pushback on (Actual) Affordable Housing at School Proposal — “Members of the MacArthur Advisory Committee and the community were left scrambling last week after the city indicated it would be exploring affordable housing on the Douglas MacArthur Elementary School site. The announcement that the city would not only be exploring co-location options, but also providing funding to Alexandria City Public Schools for an architectural exploration of potential housing options, surprised members of the advisory committee.” [Alexandria Times]

News

Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published January 22, 2020 at 8:00AM

The Woodrow Wilson Bridge at sunset (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Seminary Road Saga Continues — Despite suggestions “that the Alexandria Fire Department had significant input into the Complete Streets Design Guidelines and whether to narrow Seminary Road, documents obtained by city residents under the Freedom of Information Act reveal this was not the case.” [Alexandria Times]

Sushi Restaurant Coming to ‘West Alex’ — “Sushi Jin Next Door, which opened its first restaurant in Silver Spring in 2006 and now has a second location in Woodbridge, is opening a third location in Alexandria, Virginia. The new location will be part of the West Alex mixed-use development at King Street and North Beauregard Street.” [WTOP]

News

Old Town Power Plant to be Broken Up into Three Lots

By Vernon Miles

Published January 9, 2020 at 10:30AM

GenOn Power Plant (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

The enormous power plant in North Old Town has been shut down for nearly a decade, but plans have finally emerged to break the property up into smaller parcels for redevelopment.

The Potomac River Generating Station, more commonly known around Alexandria by its former name GenOn — which still adorns the building’s signs — was decommissioned in 2012.

News

First Look at the New Automated Parking Garage Planned for Old Town

By Vernon Miles

Published January 6, 2020 at 2:15PM

Automated parking garage planned for Old Town (photo via City of Alexandria)

A new series of buildings, including a towering automated parking garage, could be replacing a parking lot just off King Street in Old Town.

The groundwork for the project was laid months ago when the city agreed to sell the lot at 116 S. Henry Street, in addition to another parking lot along King Street.