The Alexandria City Council unanimously voted Saturday to permanently close the 200 block of King Street to vehicular traffic, extending the city’s pedestrian zone after a successful pilot program.
The 7-0 vote on second reading makes the closure effective immediately, eliminating 16 metered parking spaces and one short-term visitor space in front of the Alexandria Visitor Center.
A 15-year-old Alexandria male has been issued a detention order and charged with robbery using a firearm after allegedly robbing a man on a Metro train near the King St-Old Town Metro station.
The incident occurred on Monday, Aug. 4, just after 7 p.m. The victim was on a train traveling from the Van Dorn Street Metro station to the King Street station when he was approached from behind by a masked male, put in a choke hold, hit in the face and then had a black handgun “jammed into his person,” and allegedly said, “Give me everything,” according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The victim told the Metro Transit Police Department that the suspect stole $300 in cash, an Apple watch, and a Louis Vuitton backpack.
A popular Massachusetts-based fast-casual organic restaurant has filed paperwork to open at 400 King Street in Old Town.
Life Alive Organic Cafe has filed a special use permit application to open in the space formerly occupied by Long and Foster Realtors. The building is currently home to The Alexandrian Old Town Hotel at 480 King Street and Southern restaurant King & Rye, near City Hall at 301 King Street. Life Alive is planning on a 3,000-square-foot, 97-seat restaurant to be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Interior demolition work started last week at a new French cafe in Old Town.
Aug. 28 was the last day for public comments on Maman Coffee Baking Kitchen’s special use permit application (SUP) to operate a cafe, bakery, restaurant, and accessory event space at 701 King Street. The building is located at the corner of King and N. Washington Streets, and is the former home to Foxtrot, which closed in 2024.
Alexandria City Council will vote Tuesday on permanently closing the 200 block of King Street to vehicular traffic, following a pilot program that drew overwhelming public support.
The ordinance, which will receive its first reading at Tuesday’s meeting, would make the closure permanent beginning Oct. 1. A public hearing and final vote are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 13.
Leasing has launched for a 199-unit luxury office-to-residential conversion development at 1101 King Street in Old Town.
Plans to convert the seven-story 1980s-era office building were unveiled in 2023 and approved last year, after which property owner American Real Estate Partners (AREP) announced that leasing would start in summer 2025. Now, the 200,000-square-foot property known as CityHouse Old Town is offering a range of 525-square-foot studios-to-three-bedroom apartments with dens and private wraparound terraces.
Dozens of Alexandria-based nonprofits seeking assistance will be on hand at the second-annual Community Volunteer Fair next month.
On Saturday, Sept. 13, Volunteer Alexandria and JustServe will host the free, family-friendly event inside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2810 King Street). From 2 to 4 p.m., representatives from more than 45 nonprofits will showcase their services.
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the early morning burglary of a tobacco shop on King Street in Old Town.
APD was called at around 5:30 a.m. by a passerby who found that the glass front door of Alexandria Vape and Tobacco (1213 King Street) had been smashed, according to dispatch reports. Police found the owner of the shop, who said that two suspects smashed the front door and then fled the scene, the owner told ALXnow.
Alexandria and the Old Town Farmers’ Market are looking for volunteers to deliver food to residents in need as part of the Bike for Good program.
The groceries are collected as the market outside City Hall (301 King Street) in Old Town winds down, and volunteers can expect to make deliveries from between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., according to the city.
With pedestrian-only blocks near the Potomac River to local businesses along picturesque red brick sidewalks, King Street in Old Town was just listed as one of the top 100 main streets to walk in the United States.
The King Street mile from the waterfront to the King St. Metro station was listed as 53rd in the new list, “Top 100 Best Main Streets in U.S. to Walk”, compiled by Assisted Living Magazine, behind W. Washington Street in Marquette, Michigan. Main Street in Lake Placid, New York, topped the list. The ranking, first reported by Secret DC, is the result of a survey taken by more than 3,000 Americans, according to the magazine.
Four women arrested and charged with shoplifting in Maryland have been linked to the theft of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise from a Lululemon store in Old Town.
On Feb. 19, the Gaithersburg Police Department arrested Precious Spivey, 18, Mone Herndon, 27, Shawn Stewart, 27, and Tanaysia Stewart, 18, all of Washington, D.C., for stealing more than $10,000 in merchandise from Bath & Body Works in Germantown and a LensCrafters and Lululemon store in Gaithersburg. The department said the group was engaged in an “organized retail theft ring.”
