Sisyphus’ boulder is back at the bottom of the hill: the Old Town BID proposal has been killed yet again.
Boyd Walker from the Anti-BID Coalition said in an email that City of Alexandria officials confirmed the vote and that the BID will not be moving forward:
Nonprofit shop Ten Thousand Villages (915 King Street) recently celebrated 30 years in Old Town.
The shop offers fair trade goods from over 35 countries made by international artisans with fair trade, meaning artisans receive fair prices for their work.
Alexandria city staff said an expansion of the King Street Pedestrian Zone to the 200 block is feasible and could move forward this fall.
Hillary Orr, deputy director of Transportation Planning and Mobility, said the city worked with the fire department, police department, city attorney and traffic operations to review the proposal.
A new head spa just opened on King Street in Old Town.
Meraki Head Spa soft launched last week at 320 King Street. Owner Kathleen Le has held onto the space since moving her beauty parlor Salon Meraki to 1101 Queen Street in 2021, and started renovating the 900 square-foot space in August. She added eight beds, seven staffers, ambient music and turned off the lights.
A plan to substantially overhaul a portion of King Street near the Bradlee Shopping Center is headed to City Council review next week.
The preferred concept would turn the access road closest to the Bradlee Shopping Center into a one-way street with a lane dedicated to public transit. The plan would also add a two-way bike path on the southern side of the street.
TD Bank has filed a special use permit to open at the former SunTrust branch at 515 King Street.
The Washington Business Journal reported the move from its 119 S. Washington Street location earlier this year.
The much-needed replacement of Alexandria’s most-strikable bridge could come with some benefits to the cramped sidewalk beneath.
At a City Council meeting last week, City Council member Sarah Bagley said the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is moving forward with the replacement of a pair of bridges that passes over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue.
From the 100 block down to the waterfront, King Street is a pedestrian zone. Now, that zone could be expanding a little further west to the 200 block of King Street.
The pedestrian-zones are closed to car traffic except where King Street intersects with perpendicular roads like S. Union Street. The closure, which started out in 2020, has since become a permanent feature of the Old Town blocks.
Alexandria city staff have been ordered to evaluate turning the 200 block of King Street into a pedestrian zone.
Mayor Justin Wilson and City Council Member John Taylor Chapman asked staff to create a pilot program to turn the 200 block of King Street into a pedestrian zone. The move would effectively eliminate cars from the main thoroughfare next door to City Hall’s Market Square (301 King Street) all the way down to the waterfront.
Get the lederhosen and Bavarian hats ready, because Oktoberfest is coming to Alexandria this month.
The annual folk festival celebrating German culture, food and beer, starts at Atlas Brew Works (2429 Mandeville Lane) on Friday, Sept. 20.
Douglas Development defaulted on a $51.7 million loan last month, and three of the 15 properties the company used as collateral are in Old Town.
The balance on the 2014 loan was not paid by the Aug. 1 deadline, according to loan documents found by the Washington Business Journal.
