The front entrance to El Texano Bar & Grill is boarded up after a driver crashed their Mercedes-Benz into the building this morning.
The incident occurred around 11 a.m. today (Wednesday) at the bar in the Van Dorn Plaza shopping center (514 S Van Dorn Street).
The only person assessed for injuries at the time was the car’s driver. Alexandria Fire Department (AFD) spokesperson Raytevia Evans said AFD inspeced the building for structural damage and found it was limited to the glass window, with no compromise to the utilities or structural integrity.
“Units evaluated the driver and confirmed no injuries,” Evans said.
El Texano Bar & Grill could not be reached for comment.
This happened this morning after 11 AM in Alexandria. El Texano Bar and Grill on Van Dorn St. in Van Dorn plaza.
No injuries as known, Hat tip to my stringer in northern Virginia ha ha@STATter911 @alanhenney pic.twitter.com/24VtDlWvoB— I am abnormal and I like others who are abnormal (@shockingguy) August 23, 2023
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating two back-to-back shootings early Sunday and Monday in the West End.
Police were notified of multiple gunshots on Sunday at around 2 a.m. in the 200 block of N. Pickett Street near Holmes Run. Officers in the area heard the shots, according to scanner traffic, although no injuries were reported or arrests made.
At around 4:15 a.m. on Monday, multiple gunshots were reported in the 6100 block of Edsall Road. The incident occured near an apartment complex a block away from the intersection with S. Van Dorn Street.
Police found shell casings at the scene, according to the scanner. APD later reported via Twitter that, as of 5 a.m., no injuries or property damage was reported and no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information on these incidents can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Notification:: There is a moderate police presence in and around the 6100 block of Edsall Road. This is in response to a shots fired incident. No injuries or property damage are reported at this time. APD is on the scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/w48PENN7DG
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) August 7, 2023
Image via Google Maps
A woman was allegedly punched in the face and robbed of her phone in the West End on Sunday night.
The incident occurred at around 11:45 p.m. in the 300 block of S. Reynolds Street. The 37-year-old victim was approached by three males and a female, got punched and was then robbed of her phone, according to dispatch reports.
The woman told police that the suspects were juveniles. She was treated for a broken nose by paramedics.
No arrest has been made in connection to the incident, according to the Alexandria Police Department. Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444.
A man was assaulted and robbed as he walked out of the bathroom of a McDonald’s in the Landmark area last night.
Police were called to the restaurant at 505 S. Van Dorn Street at around 10:45 p.m., according to Alexandria Police Department dispatches.
The victim told police that he was confronted as he walked out of the restroom, punched in the face and robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash by a man wearing a black Scarface T-shirt. The suspect fled the scene on foot with a female and the victim was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
No arrest was made, although police viewed security footage from inside the McDonald’s and identified a suspect, according to police.
Anyone with information on this incident can call the APD non-emergency number at 703-746-4444. Callers can remain anonymous.
Images via Google Maps
This reporter’s already noted that Alexandria bears a passing resemblance to the province of Skyrim* and that Nordic connection is only getting stronger: the Landmark neighborhood is getting a new axe throwing bar.
Bad Axe Throwing is opening a new location in Van Dorn Station at 617 S Pickett Street.
The location was originally listed as opening this spring, but staff at Bad Axe Throwing said estimate is now at the more nebulous “soon.” The alcohol license for the location is still listed as pending.
“Our axe throwing coaches will teach you how to throw an axe while helping you improve your axe throwing technique and make you into an axe throwing pro in no time,” the website said. “We offer fun & unique axe throwing games as well as individual and team-based tournaments for an unforgettable experience.”
Bad Axe Throwing is an international chain with nearby locations in Washington D.C. and Fairfax.
Image via Bad Axe Throwing/Facebook
*Technically the only thrown weapons in Skyrim are Riekling spears
Updated at 3:30 p.m. on May 24 — The estimated costs of the total infrastructure improvements at the former Landmark Mall site have ballooned 40% since City Council signed off on the project in 2021, forcing the city to get creative with its financing.
Tonight (Tuesday), the City Council will vote on directing City Manager Jim Parajon to execute an agreement between the city, Landmark Land Holdings (a joint venture between Foulger-Pratt, The Howard Hughes Corp. and Seritage Growth Properties.) and Inova Healthcare Services to address the $62 million shortfall.
The increase is due to a number of issues, including inflation and equipment shortages, according to a staff report to be presented to Council. The initial agreement between the parties had the city contributing $86 million for infrastructure and $54.25 million for the future home of Alexandria Hospital for a total of $140.25 million. Now the city proposes to increase Landmark Redevelopment-related City Bonds in a “maximum aggregate principal amount sufficient” to raise $37.6 million in net construction proceeds to pay for the infrastructure improvements and interest charges on those bonds.
City staff said that worsened economic conditions pose challenges to future private investments to the project, and that “unanticipated interest rate hikes coupled with illiquidity of the debt markets further worsened by the collapse of regional banks have resulted in a deterioration of asset values.”
“The cost increase is a factor of various events including advancement of design and engineering, infrastructure, parks and open space scope refinement, supply chain disruptions, material and labor cost increase due to both inflation and shortages, and regional competition due to the prevalence of major projects stimulated in part by federal infrastructure funding,” city staff reported.
Additionally, “While the Developer was able to value engineer approximately $17 million in savings, the overall cost for infrastructure improvements has increased by approximately $45 million based on executed guaranteed maximum price construction contracts for approximately 70% of the infrastructure costs.”
In March, City Council unanimously approved the Inova at Landmark project, which includes a 569,000 square-foot hospital center, a 111,000 square-foot cancer center, an 83,000 square-foot specialty care center and a retrofitted 550-space parking garage. Inova wants to start construction on its 1.1 million-square-foot project in 2024 and have the four-building hospital campus finished by 2028.
The hospital takes up a fifth of the total land use on the 52-acre West End Alexandria development, the rest of which is dedicated to residential, commercial and medical offices.
The proposed plan to address the funding gap is below:
- Landmark Land Holdings has agreed to cover approximately $7.5 million of the funding gap by waiving fee on increased costs and increasing its equity contribution, further reducing its developer fee, and shifting a portion of the infrastructure improvement costs to individual vertical parcel developments
- Â The City will fund $37.6 million of the funding gap through the increased issuance of City Bonds to be repaid from synthetic Incremental Tax Revenues (real property tax, retail sales and use tax, meals tax, and transient lodging tax) generated from the Landmark site. The CDA will increase the special assessment backstop to account for this increased issuance
- Block D in the project will be dedicated as workforce housing
- The parties will explore exemption/removal of Block J (Affordable Housing/Fire Station) from the Landmark Community Development Authority special assessment obligations and from assessments related to a future business improvement service district to increase feasibility of affordable housing at Block J
- For two years, Landmark Land Holdings will identify and make available up to three pop-up spaces for local businesses with a minimum of 90 days to operate with their license agreement becoming month-to-month after the initial 90 days
It’s been a busy week in Alexandria.
City Council unanimously approved City Manager Jim Parajon’s $884.3 million fiscal year 2024 budget, funding citywide pay increases, a fully funded school system and collective bargaining agreements with the police and fire departments.
On Thursday night, the School Board announced that Interim Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt has been promoted to superintendent. Kay-Wyatt has led Alexandria’s 16,000 student-strong school system since the beginning of this school year after the resignation of Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. So far, she’s managed ACPS through post-pandemic educational issues, an increase in juvenile crime and the ACPS budget process. Her four-year contract ends on June 30, 2027, and her annual salary is $265,000.
Much of the week was punctuated by crime incidents, including a gunfire incidents in Landmark, an attempted carjacking on Duke Street and another shots fired incident near the Braddock Road Metro station.
- New tool maps out income and racial inequality across Alexandria
- Fairfax County man sentenced 10 years for 110-mph Duke Street crash that killed man
- Teen arrested for attempted carjacking on Duke Street
- Carjacking suspect arrested after midnight pursuit on King Street
- JUST IN: Police investigating shots fired incident near Braddock Road Metro station
- JUST IN: ACPS to announce new superintendent on Thursday
- Fundraiser established for family of the ACHS student who died this week
- Brothers want Tex-Mex restaurant ‘Dos Hermanos’ to open in Del Ray in June
- Mount Vernon Avenue closed near George Washington Middle School due to gas leak
- No arrest after shots fired in Landmark area Sunday morning
- Upcoming free tour explores the hidden history of Alexandria’s Parker-Gray neighborhood
Have a safe weekend!
A 28-year-old Fairfax County man wanted for a Jan. 4 shooting incident faces numerous charges after allegedly striking an Alexandria Police Department cruiser in the Landmark area earlier this month.
Police arrested Mengesha Mnat after a brief chase on April 3, after he allegedly pulled into the 7-Eleven parking lot at 6120 Lincolnia Road, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. Police said Mnat parked facing the street and struck a police cruiser as APD approached his car to make an arrest.
Police tracked Mnat to an apartment complex less than a mile away near the intersection of Little River Turnpike and Southland Avenue. He was reportedly pursued by APD investigators and the K9 unit.
“Mr. Mnat parked the vehicle and fled on foot, (and) while running your affiant could observe Mr. Mnat manipulating his hands around his waistband,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.
The following was recovered from the suspect’s “flight path”:
- A loaded Glock handgun
- 11.8 grams of suspected fentanyl, which field-tested positive
- 5.8 grams of suspected cocaine
- 1.5 pills of Oxycodone
Mnat is suspected in a Jan. 4 shooting incident in the 6100 block of Lincolnia Road. He was charged with discharging a firearm in a public place, resisting arrest, disregarding police commands to stop, assault on law enforcement, hit and run (property damage), possession of Schedule I/II drugs with a firearm, and possession to distribute Schedule I/II drugs.
Mnat goes to court on April 26.
Notification:: There is a moderate police presence in the 6100 block of Lincolnia Road. This is in response to a shots fired call for service, no injuries were reported in connection with the incident. APD is on the scene and investigating. pic.twitter.com/jSQl6tsUUz
— Alexandria Police (@AlexandriaVAPD) January 5, 2023
Image via Google Maps
Traffic might be a little slower around Lincolnia and Landmark this week due to lane closures on Duke Street.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) said in a release that there will be daytime closures on Duke Street between Oasis Drive and South Walker Street starting today (Tuesday) through Thursday.
“Single-lane closures along eastbound and westbound Duke Street will take place Tuesday between noon and 3:30 p.m.,” VDOT said in the release, “and Wednesday and Thursday between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day.”
The shift will allow the deck to be replaced on the eastbound side of the bridge over I-395, part of the rehabilitation of the Duke Street bridge. The improvements aim to extend the life of the bridge and boost safety for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.
The project’s website said improvements for the bridge include:
- Replacing the concrete bridge deck and beams
- Upgrading the westbound sidewalk to a shared-use path
- Widening the eastbound sidewalk
The project is scheduled for completion this winter.
According to the release:
Once the shift is complete, the eastbound Duke Street lanes over I-395 will be temporarily routed over the westbound side of the bridge alongside the westbound lanes. This shift will allow the deck to be replaced on the eastbound side of the bridge. In addition, as part of the shift, drivers along the northbound I-395 ramp to westbound Duke Street will temporarily encounter a stop sign instead of a yield at the end of the ramp. These traffic patterns are scheduled to be in place until mid-summer.
Alexandria: On Tue 4/11 from noon-3:30PM, and Wed 4/12-Thu 4/13 from 9:30AM-3:30PM each day, Duke St (Rt 236) will have single-lane closures at I-395 to implement a traffic shift as part of the bridge rehab project. More info: https://t.co/MHunSHokhi pic.twitter.com/ZNnT6ks3Kj
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) April 10, 2023
Image via Google Maps
The 1.1 million-square-foot Inova at Landmark project got unanimous approval by the Alexandria City Council on Saturday, giving the hospital system the green light to build the future home of Alexandria Hospital.
Inova wants to start construction on the former Landmark Mall site in 2024 and have the four-building hospital campus finished by 2028. The hospital building is designed to face I-395, making it a gateway for drivers traveling north.
After years of stagnation, Alexandria started working with Inova on the site about three years ago — while the City was starting to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“To be at this point at this time is really transformational, and this is a big deal,” Mayor Justin Wilson said. “I do think this is really important and it’s gonna be really a gateway for our community for a long time to come.”
Inova at Landmark includes a 569,000 square-foot hospital center, a 111,000 square-foot cancer center, an 83,000 square-foot specialty care center and a retrofitted 550-space parking garage. A 1,488-space below-grade parking garage is also planned with at least 19 parking spaces set aside for electric vehicle charging.
“It is our duty to ensure that our new hospital is not only a state-of-the-art facility, but also a place where compassion, excellence, and innovation come together to provide the best possible care for our community” said J. Stephen Jones, president and CEO of Inova in a statement. “We are thrilled with Council’s action and are excited to make this vision come to life.”
Inova can build up to 250 feet, or 23 stories, for the tallest structures, the main hospital building and the cancer center, although the latter is proposed to be only 77 feet tall.
Inova currently plans to build a 184-foot tall main hospital building (nearly 17 stories) with a two story glass atrium at its entrance, above which would be a six-story Z-shaped inpatient tower. Inova anticipates that the building will be 184 feet tall to hide hospital mechanical equipment inside a “mechanical penthouse.”
“As one of the individuals who was born in the now soon-to-be old Alexandria Hospital, I look forward to having new generations of Alexandrians have quality care and to be born in a state-of-the-art facility,” said City Council Member John Taylor Chapman.
Each building will be constructed under LEED Silver guidelines. According to a city staff report:
The campus buildings will feature window glazing and building design to minimize heat gains, low-flow faucets and fixtures, high indoor environmental air quality, and will participate in Dominion’s Renewable Power Program with a goal to achieve a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030.
Inova will also dedicate 64,000 square feet to open space on the site, in addition to building a 14,810-square-foot central plaza in Block Q. Inova must also submit a “consolidated and coordinated” public art plan for the hospital campus.
Landmark Mall first opened in 1965, and was the first mall in the region to feature three anchor department stores (Sears, Woodward & Lothrop, and Hecht’s). By 2010, the mall had nearly no tenants and in 2021, the city bought the 11-acre parcel of land for $54 million from The Howard Hughes Corporation. Inova signed a 99-year ground lease for the property that same year.
Stephanie Landrum, president and CEO of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, said that the project makes Inova Alexandria Hospital an anchor that “redefines one of our largest neighborhoods and is a tangible and visible signal of the strength of the Alexandria economy.”
“This helps us attract additional investments, employers, and residents that will bring the WestEnd project to life,” Landrum said.
The project takes up a fifth of the total land use on the 52-acre West End Alexandria development. It was designed by Ballinger and Ennead Architects and is managed by Inova.
City Council is back for our March Public Hearing.
Today we are considering the final approval of our new Alexandria Hospital at the site of the former Landmark Mall. pic.twitter.com/voMQXaEt4j
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) March 18, 2023
