News

Police arrested a 17-year-old Alexandria resident on Friday after he allegedly fired a gel pellet gun from a moving vehicle in Old Town.

The Alexandria Police Department was notified around 12:45 a.m. Friday that a suspect was seen firing an air soft gun from inside a vehicle near the intersection of N. West and King Streets, according to radio dispatch reports. No injuries were reported.


News

The Old Town Farmers’ Market is relocating across the street from Market Square in January to accommodate upcoming renovations at City Hall.

The market is relocating just steps away at the 100 block of N. Royal Street and the courtyard at Tavern Square. The move will begin on an unannounced date in January and last throughout two to three years of City Hall construction.


News

A Maryland company has applied to open a new valet parking service for three Old Town restaurants.

Silver Spring-based Unipark Valet recently filed paperwork with the city to provide parking for The Fish Market, Landini Brothers Restaurant and Il Porto Italian Ristorante, each along the 100 block of King Street.


News

A proposed cafe on King Street in Old Town will head back to the Board of Architectural Review next month after being deferred in the spring.

Business owner Kahan S. Dhillon, Jr., wants to open Kingsley Cafe at 910 King Street, currently the site of a three-level, 1850s-era townhome. The board deferred the cafe in May, and it is now slated to return for consideration during a public hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 3.


News

Following hefty city pushback, the Board of Architectural Review unanimously advanced plans to renovate City Hall and Market Square with a new certificate of appropriateness at last night’s public hearing (Wednesday).

Board member Andrew Scott introduced a motion to approve a final design stipulating the inclusion of decorative chimneys, lifted archways and other 19th-century flourishes at the site of the 1871 building, garnering some dissent from Director of General Services Jeremy McPike.


News

A plan to construct 32 four-story townhomes at the site of two Old Town office buildings is still struggling for the blessing of the Board of Architectural Review.

Members of the review board are requesting more exterior variety and colonial influence in the proposed townhomes, after reviewing new renderings of the project at 333 N. Fairfax Street. The board did not vote on the item during last night’s public hearing (Wednesday).


Around Town

A family-owned sushi restaurant is preparing to open soon in Old Town with a menu full of Thai and East Asian specialties.

Interior renovations for Akeno Sushi are wrapping up at 611 King Street, where co-owner and veteran restaurateur Eakachai “Sean” Promsiri hopes to open for business by the end of the month.


News

Alexandria leaders have approved an Old Town cafe’s request to expand its outdoor seating and extend Sunday hours, after several neighbors spoke in support of the measure.

The City Council green-lit LaPluma Coffee & Wine’s special use permit application to increase outdoor seating capacity from 28 guests to 40, and to remain open until 10 p.m. on Sundays, as opposed to 6 p.m.


Around Town

Book specials, prizes and a kids’ storytime are coming to Old Town Books tomorrow (Saturday) as the local shop celebrates seven years in business.

The independent bookstore at 130 S. Royal Street first got its start as a pop-up business in 2018. The shop “never un-popped,” owner Ally Kirkpatrick told ALXnow.


News

City and public housing leaders joined developers today (Wednesday) to break ground on the Samuel Madden Homes affordable housing apartment complex in Old Town.

The project will replace the former 66-unit public housing apartment complex with 532 new affordable homes across two phases. The first phase, costing $120 million, will redevelop the site into 207 units of affordable and mixed-income housing, with an estimated completion date of fall 2027.


News

The Freedom House Museum reopened last Thursday following over a year of exterior renovations to restore the building’s pre-Civil War facade.

Alexandria leaders cut the ribbon on the renovations during a ceremony Saturday afternoon, where Mayor Alyia Gaskins said the museum — formerly a site where slave traders trafficked tens of thousands of enslaved peoples — serves as a declaration that the city will not forget its history.


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