News

Pupatella Neapolitan Pizza will open in Old Town North before the end of the year, a managing partner for the local pizza chain told ALXnow.

Construction has begun on the building at 700 Slaters Lane, the former longtime home to Sam’s Custom Cleaners. The dry cleaner shut down a month after the death of owner Tony Tran in 2022.


News

As developer Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) heads into the ambitious redevelopment of the GenOn Power Plant, the developer laid out some of their plans for the complex process of breaking the site apart.

Representatives of the developer spoke last week to the Alexandria Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) — full disclosure, this reporter is on the LEPC — about how the developers plans for abatement, remediation and deconstruction. The discussion was a follow-up to a previous LEPC meeting with Deputy Director for Infrastructure and Environmental Quality Bill Skrabak.


News

Get your favorite Italian dish while you can, because A La Lucia will likely close by the end of the year, the restaurant’s owner tells ALXnow.

After more than 20 years in business, the popular Italian restaurant at 315 Madison Street will not relocate when Carr Companies starts construction on two acres of redevelopment for their Montgomery Center property in Old Town North.


News

An event space just off the Mount Vernon Trail at Canal Center is looking to undergo a small expansion to make the Old Town North location a little more exciting.

Chalkboard Canal Center LLC, is proposing to add two temporary trailers to the event as well as a permit for live music to create a venue called The Bike Club.


News

Like 1799 Prime Steak and Seafood, Hotel AKA (625 First Street) in Old Town North is heading to city review for a permit to dramatically upscale some courtyard seating.

The hotel — perhaps most notably for its strikingly dark facade — is hoping to increase its outdoor seating from 40 seats to 120 seats.


News

(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) Alexandria is one step closer to the demolition of the NRG Potomac River Generating Station site in Old Town North.

On Saturday, City Council unanimously endorsed the plant owner’s Coordinated Sustainability Strategy, which outlines a plan to electrify the future mixed-use development slated to be built there.


News

Crooked Beat Records will move from Old Town North to its new Del Ray home the week after Record Store Day on April 22 (Saturday), owner Bill Daly tells ALXnow.

The store’s last day at at 802 N. Fairfax Street will be on Saturday, April 29, after which it will be open on weekends. The new store at 2417 Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray will likely open in June.


News

A massive plan to demolish the Montgomery Center in Old Town North unanimously passed through the Alexandria Planning Commission on Thursday night.

The two-acre project would demolish the 1970s-era shopping center and replace it with an eight-story 350,000-square-foot apartment building with 327 residential units, more than 25,000 square feet of retail and a 13,300-square-foot performance venue for up to 600 patrons.


News

As plans for what will replace the Potomac River Generating Station in Old Town North gradually take shape, the city is still working through the specifics of how exactly to tear down the building.

Deputy Director for Infrastructure and Environmental Quality Bill Skrabak said in a presentation yesterday to the Alexandria Local Emergency Planning Committee — full disclosure, this reporter is a member of that committee — that rather than one big demolition the building will most likely be taken apart piece by piece.


News

The Montgomery Center redevelopment is heading to Alexandria’s Planning Commission later this month.

The proposed development, first announced last spring, is a sweeping overhaul of a block at the heart of Old Town North.


News

Seichou Karate Old Town was born in the 2007 Recession and adapted to survive the 2020 Covid pandemic, but after 16 years in the heart of Old Town North, it may not survive the neighborhood’s development boom.

Seichou Karate is one of a dozen stores at the Montgomery Center (807 North Royal Street) in Old Town North. The squat building sits at the heart of a rapidly developing area of the city. Carr Companies purchased the building and announced redevelopment plans last year.


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