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.
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.
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]
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]
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]
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.
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.
Financing for Wegmans Development — “The developers behind Carlyle Crossing, the Wegmans-anchored mixed-use development going up near the Eisenhower Avenue Metro station in Alexandria, have lined up $253 million in financing for the project. ” [Washington Business Journal]
Five-Year-Old Found Wandering in Cold — “Authorities in Alexandria say a young child who was found out in the cold early Friday will be reunited with her mother… The 5-year-old was found near a Taco Bell location at the intersection of South Van Dorn Street and Edsall Road before 4 a.m.” [Fox 5]
(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) After 20 years of planning, work has started on the Potomac Yard Metro station.
Officials past and present came together at 2 p.m. today (Thursday) at the future Potomac Yard Metro station, currently the parking lot of Regal Potomac Yard movie theater.
Alexandria is seeking public input for what to do with a prime piece of waterfront property currently occupied by eight parking spaces.
The lot at 2 King Street is currently owned by the City of Alexandria, a byproduct of its acquisition of the Old Dominion Boat Club building that was once across the street. But the city received an unsolicited proposal from the owner of the adjacent development to develop the property.
Bus Barn Set for Demolition — “Located at 600 N. Royal St., the former Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) bus garage, a.k.a. bus barn, has remained vacant since August 2014… Demolition of the bus barn is scheduled to begin on January 2, 2020. In its place, a mixed use apartment building will be built.” [Zebra]
Prominent Local Pastor Announces Sabbatical — “After 30 years of preaching more than 5,000 sermons, the Rev. Howard-John Wesley stood in front of his congregation on Dec. 1 and admitted he needed a break from the Lord’s work… Wesley, 47, has been pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., for the past 11 years, leading four services every weekend, averaging 4,500 in attendance and 50,000 viewers online.” [Washington Post]
