Two of Alexandria’s iconic holiday season parades will lead to some road closures throughout Old Town this weekend.
The Scottish Christmas Walk Parade and the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights both take place this Saturday, prompting the closures as well as reserved parking and no-parking zone enforcement.
The Planning Commission has given its approval to plans to redevelop an Old Town apartment building with more affordable housing.
The commission gave its blessing last night (Tuesday) to Alfred Street Baptist Church’s proposal to construct a four-story, 145-unit affordable housing complex on the grounds of the 1970s-era Old Towne West building. The current parcels at 901 Wolfe Street and 598 and 601 S. Alfred Street have 77 units, including 34 affordable units and two offices.
A new home decor boutique recently opened on King Street in Old Town.
Interior Instincts opened for business last month at 1124 King Street, in the former longtime home of Imagine Artwear. The shop is owned by Alexandria resident Shireen Alhasawi, who spent four months reimagining it into a space selling neutral and contemporary Mediterranean pieces.
An Alexandria developer has proposed replacing a small outdoor parking lot in Old Town with a new mixed-use apartment building.
Windmill Hill is seeking approval to build a three-story, eight-unit apartment building with ground floor retail at 220 and 224 S. Peyton Street. The 4,400-square-foot property is currently home to a 16-space outdoor parking lot located about a quarter-mile from the King St.-Old Town Metro station.
A French-inspired cafe with a growing presence in the D.C. area is hoping to open a location in Old Town as soon as next month.
Maman, which started construction at 701 King Street in September, is currently preparing to open in a 3,900-square-foot vacancy left by Foxtrot in spring 2024.
Hundreds of Alexandria residents gathered on Saturday to celebrate Alexandria’s annual Christmas tree lighting in Market Square.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins announced the magical arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus, who got into town on a Christmas-themed King Street Trolley. They helped city leaders count down the lighting of the 40-foot-tall plastic tree, which is adorned with some 38,000 lights.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
