Alexandria will get a long holiday weekend packed with Juneteenth festivities, Father’s Day events, Pride Month celebrations and summer solstice events.
As some workers get a day off for the federal Juneteenth holiday, Alexandria will host events like the Juneteenth Festival at Charles Houston Recreation Center, Washington Revels Jubilee Voices Juneteenth Concert at Shiloh Baptist Church and Memorial at Douglass Cemetery.
As Hotel AKA Alexandria transitions to the Autograph Collection Hotels by Marriott today (Wednesday), the Old Town North hotel has been renamed The Satire.
The Satire, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, features new branding and management as well as Marriott rewards benefits for hotel guests. The hotel is managed by Concord Hospitality and will remain under Electra America Hospitality’s ownership.
The Alexandria City Council on Saturday unanimously greenlit construction and financing plans to redevelop the shuttered Potomac River Generating Station in Old Town North.
City Council approved property owner HRP Group’s plan to develop the first phase (Blocks B and C) of the six-block, 19-acre project with mixed-use apartment and retail buildings, create more than 10 acres of public open space and convert an old pump house into a community amenity. City Council also approved a $135 million financing deal for the project, which HRP Group says will catalyze more than $2 billion in private investment into the site. Deconstruction of the former power plant could begin as early as next year and is expected to take up to 20 months.
Hotel AKA in Old Town North will transition into a Marriott Autograph Collection on June 17, according to the Washington Business Journal.
Electra American, which acquired the 180-room former Holiday Inn at 625 First Street in 2021, made the deal to change the hotel brand. The hotel was redesigned by Italian architect Piero Lissoni, then renovated and reopened as Hotel AKA in 2023.
A funding plan to facilitate the redevelopment of the former Potomac River Generating Station site in Old Town North will be on Alexandria City Council’s agenda this week.
City Council will receive a briefing on the funding plan Tuesday (June 9), then hold a public hearing and consider approval of the agreement on Saturday (June 13).
An earlier version of this story said Metro would have a shutdown the weekend of June 19-21, but Metro has finished its Crystal City station project and cancelled the upcoming shutdown.
Members of Alexandria’s LGBTQ+ community are celebrating Pride Month with events throughout June.
A new art installation near the Potomac River in Old Town North was quietly installed over the weekend.
Sculptor Christian Benefiel, on Saturday, installed and put the finishing touches on Beacon 3, a commissioned piece at the TideLock office-to-residential development (1033 N. Fairfax Street) in Old Town North. The piece was constructed over the last year from welded steel and resembles a nautical beacon and satellite with jet engine parts.
Guests at the Old Town North Farmers’ Market will be able to sample food from a fast-casual vegetarian restaurant opening soon in Alexandria.
Life Alive Cafe — which plans to open Tuesday, June 9 at 400 King Street — will make an appearance at today’s market (May 28) from 3-7 p.m. at 901 N. Royal Street. The restaurant will also appear at the market on Thursday, June 11, according to a newsletter from the Old Town North Community Partnership.
Plans to redevelop the shuttered Potomac River Generating Station in Old Town North are heading to the Alexandria Planning Commission and City Council next month.
The Planning Commission will get the first crack at the massive proposal to convert the 18-acre site at 1300 N. Royal Street into a mixed-use development at its meeting on Tuesday, June 2, followed by a City Council public hearing June 13. City Council will also be presented with a $135 million financing deal for the project June 9 (Tuesday), which property owner HRP Group says will catalyze more than $2 billion in private investment into the site. City Council will hold a public hearing for the financing agreement on Saturday, June 13.
This story was updated with additional details and a new rendering from a Carr spokesperson.
Plans for a new Italian restaurant and a café are progressing in Old Town North, with both expected to open early next year.
The pedestrian killed in Old Town North last month was walking within a marked crosswalk with an active countdown on the pedestrian beacon signal, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The 62-year-old victim, identified by the Alexandria Police Department as Norma Floyd-Sayles, was struck by a Chevrolet Suburban and killed while crossing at the intersection of St. Asaph and Montgomery Streets around 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 20. The 46-year-old male driver stopped approximately 40 feet from where police found her body and called 911 to report the incident, according to the affidavit.
