It’s finally Friday in Alexandria!
Here’s a look back at our top stories of the week. Topping off our coverage are the delectable poll results on the top three Mexican restaurants in the city. More than 1,800 foodies cast their votes, and Taqueria el Poblano (2400B Mount Vernon Avenue) in Del Ray took the top spot, followed by Taqueria Picoso (1472 N. Beauregard Street) and Los Tios Grill (2615 Mount Vernon Avenue). Do you agree with the results?
After coasting through the Planning Commission, plans to modernize George Mason Elementary School are heading to City Council for this Saturday (May 17).
Alexandria City Public Schools is hoping to cut the ribbon on the new two-story building in the summer of 2027. The project will keep the original 1939 building, although ACPS plans to demolish a majority of the existing school and replace it with a two-story structure for a capacity of 670 students and 80 teachers and staff.
The Alexandria City Council is set to make final approvals this week on a plan to transform a former motel property on N. Washington Street into a mixed-use multifamily apartment building and townhouse.
Maryland-based PT Blooms is asking the city to approve plans to redevelop the property at 802 and 808 N. Washington Street into The Whitley—Phase 2, a 48-unit building with one- to three-bedroom condos. That’s the former Old Towne Motel property, which has been closed for years.
Welcome to Friday! Here’s a look back at our most-read stories of the week.
Our top story this week is on Episcopal High School being named a training site for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. To accommodate an international soccer team with a home-away-from-home atmosphere, the private school is asking the city for permission to install field lighting with 47 light poles between 40-to-100-feet-tall.
The developer behind plans to build a five-story, 142-space automated parking garage and a 16-unit mixed-use apartment building with ground floor retail in Old Town is asking the city for an extension.
Galena Capital Partners says that its plans to build the project were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a legal dispute that was settled with a neighbor, new staffing in the city and more. The project was approved in 2022, and the development special use permit approvals expire in July.
A proposal for a new French bakery in Old Town will be submitted to the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday (May 7).
Arlington-based Eclairons Pastry and Coffee House wants to open at the old Firehook Bakery at 430 S. Washington Street. The location was Shuman’s Bakery for more than 30 years before Firehook Bakery took over in 2004.
Episcopal High School is about to get a lot brighter.
The private high school at 1200 N. Quaker Lane has been approved to serve as a training site for a team participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and now the school wants to install field lighting with 47 light poles between 40-to-100-feet-tall.
A 60-year-old apartment complex in the West End is about to get a little bigger.
On Tuesday, the Planning Commission will review a special use permit to add 19 apartments to The Alante Apartments, a 296-unit complex next door to the Seminary Towers Apartments and Francis C. Hammond Middle School, and is bounded by N. Van Dorn Street and Seminary Road.
The City of Alexandria wants Betsey and H.J. Rosenbaum to know that there will still be a botanical garden built in their honor at Point Lumley Park, despite not being included in site concept plans.
The Rosenbaum family has lived near the waterfront for decades, and several years ago, the couple bequeathed $2.5 million to the city to build the garden at the park. They were surprised, however, when they saw new concept designs published by ALXnow that didn’t include a botanical garden. The plans are headed to the city’s Board of Architectural Review on May 7.
A new Vietnamese-themed restaurant is under development in Arlandria.
2D Noodles (3823 Mount Vernon Avenue) ‘s interior renovation is nearly complete. The restaurant’s location in the Del Ray North shopping center is two stores down from Sake Express Japanese Hibachi, which is owned by the same local restaurant chain that owns Sake Japanese Steakhouse & Bar at 2016 Eisenhower Avenue.
