It was a surprising week in Alexandria.
Our top story by far was on the venomous rattlesnake found in Old Town on Sunday. The timber snake, which also goes by the name American Viper, was discovered in the 400 block of Gibbon Street — a few blocks from the waterfront. It didn’t bite anyone, and was apprehended by the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria’s Animal Services team and later moved to a wildlife facility in Northern Virginia.
This Saturday, June 19, is also Juneteenth, and the new federal holiday recognizes the end of slavery in the U.S. The City recognized Juneteenth on Friday, and most government offices and facilities were closed. This weekend, the Alexandria Black History Museum is partnering with Washington Revels Jubilee Voices — a group that preserves local Black traditions through a cappella music, dramatic performances and dance — for a virtual Juneteenth Celebration.
Meanwhile, in-person dramatic and musical performances are being planned for July. The Little Theatre of Alexandria is expanding capacity with their new lineup of shows, and the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will resume in-person performing in a reduced program at the City’s birthday celebration on the waterfront on July 10.
In other good news, a pair of T.C. Williams High School Titans raised more than $4,800 to attend the Outdoor Nationals at the University of Oregon on July 1.
In this week’s poll, we asked readers how they think the millions of first allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds should be spent, as City Council will conduct a public hearing on how to spend it on Saturday. After a rash of flooding incidents last year, a majority of the respondents want the funds prioritized for waterway maintenance.
This Sunday is also Father’s Day, and a number of Alexandria businesses are offering unique specials.
Important stories
- ACPS Superintendent Hutchings wins contract renewal with enthusiastic support from School Board
- No cut-through traffic relief in new Duke Street plan, but it could be addressed this fall
- Volunteer Alexandria contends with pandemic aftershock, needs help now more than ever
- Towering east Eisenhower development headed to Planning Commission next week
- UPDATE: Man found in West End after Alexandria Police issue Critical Missing Person Alert
- Local construction worker gets a second chance at professional baseball
- New flood mitigation committee sizes up deluge of city stormwater problems
- Alexandria Black History Museum secures grant to bring city’s civil rights history online
- Pedestrian struck by vehicle in Carlyle and taken to hospital
- Grocery delivery chain Foxtrot coming to Old Town
- Alexandria’s COVID-19 cases barely trickling in, 10 new cases reported last week
Top stories
- JUST IN: Rarity as American Viper Rattlesnake found in Old Town
- Captain Sean Casey wins Democratic primary and is running unopposed for Sheriff in November
- Woman assaulted by mob and pepper-sprayed in Old Town North
- Man dies of apparent overdose at coworking office in Old Town
- T.C. Williams High School’s final graduating class walks the stage
- Alexandria Fire Department rescues woman from stalled car, Flash Flood Watch in effect
- City launches Duke Street transit overhaul process
- For Taco Bamba owner, newly announced Landmark location is a homecoming
- Shortened Alexandria Birthday celebration is still on for July 10
- Here’s what to do when you find dead birds amid recent epidemic
- Java Grill closed until further notice in Old Town
Have a safe weekend!Â
Courtesy AWLA/TwitterÂ
Residents keep reporting sick birds, officials investigating — “In late May, wildlife managers in Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia began receiving reports of sick and dying birds with eye swelling and crusty discharge, as well as neurological signs. No definitive cause of death is identified at this time.” [Alexandria Living]
Alexandria Aces open season at Frank Mann Field — “The Alexandria Aces took on the Gaithersburg Giants June 8 in the opening game at Frank Mann Field, losing to their Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League rivals 10-7. Sheriff Dana Lawhorne threw out the ceremonial first pitch with his grandson Ryan Kaskela and team owner Frank Fannon joining him on the mound. Pitcher Chris Knight from George Washington University opened the game with Matt Stone, a catcher at Georgetown, behind the plate. The team roster consists of more than 40 elite college baseball players from across the country.” [Gazette]
Office-to-residential development trend continues at Transpotomac Plaza in Old Town North — The proposed project known as TideLock would convert three existing brick office buildings at 1033, 1055 and 1111 N. Fairfax St. into residential buildings and create a new arts and retail building. The site is 1.38 acres or 60,123 square feet in size. The office buildings were formally occupied by the American Physical Therapy Association before they moved to their new office building in Potomac Yard.” [Alexandria Living]
Today’s weather — “Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals (during the day). High 86F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph… Scattered showers and thunderstorms (in the evening). Low around 65F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%” [Weather.com]
New job: Autism behavior technician — “CARD Behavior Technician Trainees will be enrolled in the CARD Behavior Technician Training Program which is an Applied Behavior Analysis training program designed to prepare individuals to successfully conduct therapy sessions with CARD patients. Behavior Technician Trainees must complete all coursework and pass all required exams in order to be eligible to move into the Behavior Technician I position. Behavior Technician Trainees report to the CARD behavior analysts. This is an hourly, non-exempt, part-time or full-time position.” [Indeed]
A woman was beaten up by a mob and pepper-sprayed during the middle of the day in Old Town North on Sunday, June 6, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
The adult woman was assaulted in the 800 block of N. St. Asaph Street, and was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A 911 call was made in response to the fight, which occurred near Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority properties, hotels, local businesses and the Harris Teeter grocery store.
The mob — more than five adults and teenagers — ran away as soon as police arrived. No suspects have been arrested, and the incident remains under investigation, police told ALXnow.
Courtesy Google Maps
Alexandria Police Chief Michael Brown says that he’s on the level about his surprise retirement announcement, and that he and his wife will soon pulling up stakes for the West Coast in the near future to take care of urgent family business.
“This was a personal decision that my wife and I came to manifest in me having to retire,” Brown told ALXnow.
Brown has given a recommendation on who should be the acting chief until a permanent replacement is chosen at the conclusion of a national search. His last day is June 25. Right now he’s worried about summer crime, although says that crime levels are now returning to pre-pandemic levels.
The department is currently dealing with critical staffing issues, namely temporarily filling available street assignments for patrol officers by reassigning other officers.
“We’re meeting our staffing needs on the street,” Brown said. “We’re very concerned about what may happen this summer.”
APD is funded for 311 positions, and effective July 1 the department will have 305 officers on duty. Of those, six are on administrative duties pending the outcome of an investigation after a chase suspect died in D.C., and there are a number of officers on family medical leave and other various reasons, Brown said.
“In order to supplement provide some stability for those temporary shortages, we pulled other officers in to kind of fill the gaps for patrol,” he said. “And that’s normally customary in this business when you have these kinds of situations taking place.”
Brown added, “We’re seeing crime revert back to what was normal, with some minor suggestions to prior to the pandemic. We’re not seeing the same thing in terms of, for example, auto thefts, that we once saw. The shootings are also lower in number than we had last year, especially towards the summer.”
On the bright side, he said, three APD officers who were previously on administrative duties after a shootout in Old Town North have been cleared for duty by Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter. Additionally, APD will be reassigning six officers previously assigned to the School Resource Officer program, which Council eliminated last month.
As for the SROs, Brown said that he supported the program, but would not offer an opinion on Council’s decision.
“I thought there was value in the SRO program,” he said. “But then again, I don’t have the authority to make that decision. My job is to carry out the decision that was made by our elected officials.”
Brown also left six months before being vested in the city’s retirement system, although Brown says it doesn’t bother him and that the decision wasn’t about money. After a 46-year career in law enforcement, this isn’t his first retirement.
“The fact of the matter is, I’ve had several retirements,” he said. “I took this job because I cared about this police department.”
Brown started as a police officer in Los Angeles in 1977, and was the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol from 2004-2008. He was later California’s deputy secretary for public safety from 2008 to 2009, and then for six years was the director of the Office of Impaired Driving and Occupant Protection at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration before being hired as Alexandria’s police chief in 2017.
Brown led the police department through a restructuring, as well as social unrest after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the COVID-19 pandemic, and an uptick in shooting events and other crime throughout the city. He restructured the department from four to three divisions, and took away deputy chief of police positions and added an assistant chief. He also says that under his leadership the department made strides with its 21st Century Policing effort.
“Some would argue differently, but we became very transparent ,” Brown said. “We put all of our policies, we put all of our reports on use of force on our website so that people could see that information and be critical of it.”
Brown continued, “Policing is never stable. Policing will always change, and it will change based upon events; it will change upon public discourse; it will change because the community, or… the nation at large has other questions, or other expectations… The real challenge for the law enforcement community is to be able to listen and to be able to adapt in order to survive, because if we don’t survive the public will get rid of you.”
Brown’s tenure was punctuated by dramatic events, starting with the Simpson Field Shooting, and culminating with the pandemic and social unrest after the murder of George Floyd. He would later pen an op-ed saying that the video of Floyd’s death appalled him, and he spoke with city leaders to the public and later joined protestors at a demonstration outside police headquarters.
Brown said his laundry list of people to thank is long.
“I admire this department for what it does,” he said. “It’s a good department, filled with great people, and they are out there every day taking care of the citizens, the residents of this city. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to work with them.”
What a week in Alexandria. Here’s the rundown.
Our top story was on President Joe Biden stopping by the Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria last Friday with First Lady Jill Biden and Governor Ralph Northam.
Seeing the president around town is getting to be a regular thing. The president, who also visited in April, discussed “the state’s progress against the coronavirus pandemic” and the celebration of “summer as Virginia lifts all COVID-19 distancing and capacity restrictions.”
This week, we also followed up on a New York Times report about the Virginia Theological Seminary making reparations payments to slavery descendants. The program was launched in 2019, and the school issued $2,100 in annual payments to 15 families in February.
On Wednesday, the Fire Department released its restructuring plan, which goes into effect June 12, and is intended to help emergency response times by shifting resources. AFD will conduct community conversations on the restructuring on Saturday, June 5, at 10 a.m.; Monday, June 7, at 2 p.m. and Thursday, June 10, at 7 p.m.
Closing the short workweek, on Friday Alexandria Police Chief Michael Brown announced that his retirement. Brown’s last day is June 25, and the City Manager is soon expected to name an acting chief to lead the department while the city’s undergoes a national search for a permanent replacement.
Election stories
- Bennett-Parker says Levine mailer on Commonwealth of Virginia letterhead is ethics breach
- Wilson keeps fundraising lead over Silberberg in mayoral primary, McPike leads City Council candidates
- City Council candidate thinks divisive local issues are Republican comeback opportunity
- Former City Council member Willie Bailey announces bid for School Board
Important stories
- A rare glimpse inside Alexandria’s abandoned and overgrown GenOn power plant
- Virginia Theological Seminary is making reparation payments to slavery descendants
- Alexandria military veterans honored on Memorial Day
- Alexandria brings back summer cooling and senior care program
- Police investigate Old Town hit and run
- Woman arrested in Braddock for attacking father of her child with pepper spray and a knife
- Driver in stolen U-Haul pickup truck successfully eludes Virginia State Police
- Alexandria Jail slowly lifting COVID restrictions, in-person attorney visitation for inmates resumes
- Mayor releases figures for ongoing eviction crisis in Alexandria
- ‘Rock It Grill’ eyeing karaoke expansion, bringing back Halloween party
Top stories
- UPDATED: President Biden and Gov. Northam visited Alexandria this morning
- JUST IN: Virginia State Police chase U-Haul pickup truck through Alexandria
- Bennett-Parker says Levine mailer on Commonwealth of Virginia letterhead is ethics breach
- Goodie’s Frozen Custard & Treats opens in Old Town
- Hank & Mitzi’s Italian Kitchen closes for the foreseeable future in Old Town North
- Volunteers needed this weekend to help clear dangerous stretch of Mount Vernon Trail
- Wilson and Silberberg mayoral debate finale opens possibility of ‘tweaking’ Seminary Road Diet
- Homegrown Restaurant Group gives employees raise to $15 an hour, will ease COVID restrictions at 6 restaurants
- ‘Rock It Grill’ eyeing karaoke expansion, bringing back Halloween party
- Here’s the order that City Council candidates will appear on the ballot for the June 8 democratic primary
- Ownership of Landmark’s streets could make a big difference down the road
Photo via White House/Twitter
Nine years after closing, the GenOn plant is an otherworldly scene reminiscent more of Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Stalker” than the dense city-scape surrounding it.
Old railroad carts are rusted and mummified in vines. Trees burst through old offices. It’s an abandoned, contaminated wilderness that Hilco Redevelopment Partners is hoping to turn into a sprawling mixed-use development.
At a tour today, Hilco staff outlined some of the challenges — and opportunities — of redeveloping the former power plant.
The first obstacle lies in clearing away environmental issues. As a former industrial site, the soil will require significant remediation efforts from leaky storage tanks that have bled pollutants into the soil.
In terms of development, the primary x-factor is how much leeway Hilco will be able to get from its neighbors.
To the west, the site is bordered by a Norfolk Southern rail line that’s been out of use for years, but is still owned by the rail company.
Melissa Schrock, senior vice president of mixed-use development for Hilco, said Norfolk Southern has expressed an openness in the past to divest from the rail line. The company selectively participates in the “Rails-to-Trails” program, and Schrock said the city’s current envisioning for the rail line is as a linear park.
On the eastern side of the site, the GenOn plant is separated from the Potomac River by the Mount Vernon Trail, which is overseen by the National Park Service. While ultimately the developer hopes to do more to integrate the Trail into the site, Schrock said it’s too early to say if that will be possible.
“We’re very early in discussions with the Park Service,” Schrock said.
Lastly, there is a Pepco substation at the center of the property. The substation provides power to D.C. and is still active, meaning that it won’t be going anywhere despite development coming up around it. Schrock said the goal is to build something that will screen the facility from the surrounding development.
Schrock said that the substation can be utilized as a community asset in some way, although Pepco will have some say on the design.
“We’ve been working on a collaboration with Pepco and it’s been a great partnership,” Schrock said. “It’s too early to say what the screen will look like. We haven’t designed the screening but we want to turn it into an asset.”
Schrock said Hilco is planning to submit preliminary designs to the City of Alexandria in July with the first round of public comment to occur around in September.
After less than a year in business, Hank & Mitzi’s Italian Kitchen has closed at 600 Montgomery Street in Old Town North, the owner announced on its website and social media on Tuesday.
“Opening a restaurant in the middle of a global pandemic was not without challenges and even with dedicated staff and loyal customers we find ourselves needing to pause, regroup, and determine the best way to move forward in this space,” the business said. “Effective immediately, we are closing Hank & Mitzi’s for the foreseeable future. We thank you for your understanding: it’s been a true pleasure serving you and the North Old Town community.”
The restaurant opened last August after closing for a renovation. Before that, for three years it was Hank’s Pasta Bar, and was a part of the “Hank’s” chain of businesses owned by the Jamie Leeds Restaurant Group, including Hank’s Oyster Bar in Old Town and two other oyster bar locations in D.C.
The now-closed restaurant was named after Leeds’ parents Hank and Mitzi. The restaurant gained a bit of acclaim a month after opening, when its executive chef won the Chopped reality show.
It’s Memorial Day weekend in Alexandria, and it’s also a short work week for ALXnow.
Yes, we’re taking a quick breather by taking off most of tomorrow (Friday, May 28).
Not to worry. We’re still covering tonight’s mayoral debate between Mayor Justin Wilson and former Mayor Allison Silberberg at 7 p.m. This will be the fourth and final candidate conversation hosted by the Seminary Ridge Civic Association, and our story will be published on Friday morning.
Our top post this week is about Hilco Redevelopment Partners, which is planning to host guided tours of the Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) site in Old Town North. The tours will be held on June 4 and 5, and the property is being planned for a mixed-use development.
On a sad note, former Virginia Senator John Warner passed away this week at his home in Old Town. He was 94, and is being recognized around the country as a conservative icon from a bygone age of political cordiality. Also, on Sunday, former Alexandria Delegate Richard R.G. Hobson died.
And local businesses are adapting to this Friday’s easing of COVID restrictions throughout Virginia. In Alexandria, the Health Department is launching the new ALX Promise Gold accreditation program for businesses to complete in the days ahead.
Election stories
- City Council candidate Sarah Bagley wants to be a voice for Alexandria women
- City Council candidate Kirk McPike says he wants to bridge divisions with community conversations
- City Council candidates talk Seminary Road Diet, transparency and ward representation (Part 3)
Important stories
- Homegrown Restaurant Group gives employees raise to $15 an hour, will ease COVID restrictions at 6 restaurants
- Ownership of Landmark’s streets could make a big difference down the road
- Poll: Do you agree with adding a pool to the city’s high school expansion?
- Alexandria private school to temporarily move into Old Town church
- Alexandria makes a splash with aquatics reopening announcement
- New private academy in Old Town headed to Planning Commission
- Alexandria juveniles arrested for gun possession
Top stories
- Developer offers tours of abandoned Alexandria power plant before demolition
- Amazon Fresh supermarket planned for former Shopper’s Food Warehouse in Potomac Yard
- Photos: More than half of the Potomac Yard Metro Station is complete
- School Board says swimming pool colocation a form of ‘reparations’ for Alexandria
- Go-go music star-turned Alexandria teacher ‘Sugar Bear’ in the spotlight after Oscars shoutout
- Here’s a list of restaurants and other businesses for sale in Alexandria
- Here’s a preview of what’s ahead for Alexandria’s post-pandemic economic development
- Catholic Charities hopes to turn vacant Carlyle restaurant into workforce training kitchen
- Here’s the order that City Council candidates will appear on the ballot for the June 8 democratic primary
- Former Alexandria Delegate Richard R.G. Hobson dies
- Alexandria Police investigating knife fight, prostitution and drugs at West End hotel
Have a safe weekend!
A 20-year-old Gainesville woman was arrested last month after allegedly breaking into a home in Old Town and fighting with a witness who is set to testify against her boyfriend in a murder trial.
Essence Amir Heard was arrested on the early morning of April 9 after allegedly breaking into a home in the 800 block of Montgomery Street in the Braddock area. Hours before, the murder suspect called the victim, who has a child with him, after he was informed that his trial would be moving forward after court delays due to COVID-19, and that she would be subpoenaed as a witness.
“After learning of this, he repeatedly called (the victim) from jail cursing and threatening her,” police said in a search warrant. “On the phone during these conversations was Ms. Essence heard, his current girlfriend.”
Later that night, the victim awoke to hear loud banding on her front door, and heard her name being screamed. She dressed and went to her living room and then saw Heard allegedly assaulting two other women with closed fists inside the house.
“All four girls were then involved in a physical fight until they were able to get Ms. Heard outside,” police said in the search warrant. “Once there, they told her they were calling the police, and she walked away.”
Heard was found at the intersection of Madison Street and N. Alfred Street, and as she was arrested told officers that she left her phone in the victim’s house.
Heard was charged with entering a house to commit assault and battery and was released that same day. She was later arrested on April 23 on a fugitive from justice charge and was transferred to another jurisdiction, according to the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office.
Heard goes to court for the offense on May 14.
Hilco Redevelopment Partners is preparing a sweeping redevelopment for the GenOn power plant in Old Town North, and at a public meeting held last week the developer and city staff gave an overview of how plans for the site fit alongside other nearby developments.
Jeffrey Farner, Deputy Director Department of Planning and Zoning, said the GenOn team faces the challenge of designing something that is in many ways the opposite of the current plant. The GenOn site is a closed off and very likely polluted site, and the city aims to work with the developer to turn the site into an open mixed-use development complete with open park space.
“How do we stitch this back into the fabric of the great neighborhood of Old Town North,” said Farner. “Many people in the community reinforced the fact that this is a waterfront community and we need to celebrate that in re-creating the streets and the parks.”
Farner said the site is planned to have 2-4 acres of waterfront open space, which will help increase the open passive areas along the river beyond just the stretch of the Mount Vernon Trail that runs through the site. Much of this, Farner said, will have to be developed alongside the National Park Service. The expanded waterfront access would allow for separate pedestrian and cyclist trails along with more amenities for trail users.
Staff at the meeting said public site tours are likely to start on June 4.
Michael Swidrak, an urban planner with the City of Alexandria, provided an overview of some other nearby developments close to the GenOn plant.
- The Alexan (600 N Royal Street): Former a WMATA bus barn, The Alexan is being redeveloped as a 286-unit apartment. Swidrak said framing for the building is complete and workers are now applying exterior materials. Construction is likely to wrap up in 2022.
- The Venue (901 N Fairfax Street):Â Former Crowne Plaza, The Venue is a project to convert a hotel into 102 condominium units. The ground floor will have a 7,000 square foot theater space for MetroStage. Swidrak said occupancy for residential units will likely commence in late 2021 or early 2022.
- The Muse (1201 N Royal Street): Former the Craddock Site, this spot at the northeast edge of Old Town will be turned into 73 condominium units and will house an Art League gallery space on the ground level of the building. Occupancy is scheduled to start in late 2021.
- Towne Motel Redevelopment (802 N Washington Street): After the historic townhouse at the site was lifted and moved, redevelopment work has started on turning the building into a 98-room Holiday Inn Express. The project is scheduled to finish later in 2022.
- Waterfront Center Conversion (801 N Fairfax): Waterfront Center is in the process of converting its office space into a 54-unit residential building. Permits for the project were approved earlier this year and construction is currently underway.
- Â Tide Lock Building (1033 N Fairfax Street): Swidrak said the applicant is still preparing a permit request, but will likely come to the city with a preliminary submission sometime in the next few weeks. The concept review sent to the city in 2019 included 232 rental and condominium units and 77,000 square feet of retail along with a 5,000 square foot arts anchor.