Fights over historic preservation are nothing new in Alexandria, and a recent edition of the city’s This Week in Historic Alexandria offered a look back at one of the controversial projects from the 1960s that shaped Old Town as it’s known today.
This year marks 60 years since Alexandria’s City Council approved the “Gadsby Commercial Urban Renewal Plan” in 1963 — a project that saw the large-scale demolition of much of King Street’s older buildings once construction began in 1965.
Alexandria’s Board of Architectural Review can be infamously picky about urban design, but the board unanimously voted to approve a large new project in Old Town with significant enthusiasm.
Applicant City House Old Town, LLC is applying to have the office building at 1101 King Street — currently a mostly vacant office space called the Tycon Building — changed into a residential development with 210 units.
A Fairfax County man goes to court this week for allegedly crashing his car into an Alexandria Police cruiser while driving drunk.
The incident occurred at around midnight on Sunday, Feb. 26, near the intersection of S. Washington Street and Green Street. There were two officers in the cruiser at the time of the crash. While the airbags were deployed, no one was injured in the crash, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
Old Town was packed on Saturday morning for Alexandria’s 40th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Thousands of visitors lined King Street to watch a procession of more than 2,000 participants, including Irish dancers, historic reenactors and the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums. The festivities also included a car show and a dog show at Market Square outside City Hall.
If you’ve tried to get a seat at 1799 Prime Steak & Seafood but couldn’t, you might have better luck in the future.
Old Town restaurant 1799 Prime Steak & Seafood (110 S. Pitt Street) is heading to the Planning Commission to get permission to better use its outdoor patio space.
With the clock running down on a rushed timeline, Old Town Business (OTB) is conducting more outreach sessions today, Friday, on its proposed business improvement district.
The group conducted information sessions yesterday (Thursday) and scheduled one for this morning and another for 1 p.m. along the ALX Community Waterfront at 201 N. Union Street.
A new restaurant focused on milkshakes in mason jars is coming to Old Town.
The Crazy Mason, a self-described milkshake bar, is planning to open at 716 King Street sometime this summer.
A main roadway into Alexandria will likely soon have a new mini-mart. On Saturday, City Council will vote on an addition to the Liberty service station at 700 S. Patrick Street (Route 1), and the owner says that construction could be wrapped by the beginning of the summer.
Per the plan, the 1,136-square-foot service station would be expanded by the addition of a 24-hour mini-mart. The 438-square-foot structure would include two restrooms, and the two existing service bays would be completely removed and remodeled into a retail shop with food and household supplies.
The Alexandria Police Department has responded to a single-vehicle motorcycle crash on Callahan Drive between King and Duke Streets, resulting in the temporary closure of the road.
The driver of the motorcycle appears to have sustained serious injuries and has been transported to the hospital. APD is currently investigating the incident.
Virginia State Police did not pursue a vehicle into Maryland after an early morning high-speed chase through Alexandria.
No one was injured or vehicles struck in the chase, which began at around 1:30 a.m. near exit 173 (Van Dorn Street) on westbound Interstate 495, according to VSP.
Old Town was packed on Monday, as thousands of revelers and marchers celebrated the George Washington Birthday Parade.
More than 2,000 freemasons from all over the country marched in the 100th annual parade, which is the largest annual celebration of Washington in the world.
