Planning Commission

City Council delays vote on Parker-Gray townhouse plan to protect commercial space

Published September 21, 2026 at 3:15PM

Rendering of new development proposed for 724, 726 and 728 N. Patrick Street in the Parker-Gray District (via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria’s City Council, on Saturday (Sept. 19), deferred a plan to convert a vacant lot and a one-story barbershop in the Parker-Gray Historic District into five four-story townhomes.

If approved, the plan would convert 724, 726 and 728 N. Patrick Street into five four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom homes with one-car garages and roof decks. City Council decided to defer the item to its public hearing on Oct. 17, during which time the city will talk with the property owner about keeping neighborhood-serving commercial businesses on the site.

News

Parker-Gray garage conversion to three-story townhome heads to City Council

By James Cullum

Published September 3, 2026 at 2:45PM

911 B and C Pendleton Street highlighted in red in the Parker-Gray Historic District (via City of Alexandria)

A small property in the Parker-Gray Historic District used as a storage and garage space could soon be converted into a new townhome.

The owner of 911 B and C Pendleton Street is asking the city to approve converting the 1,445-square-foot property into a 35-foot-tall, three-story townhome with a rooftop garden.

News

St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School files paperwork to install athletic field lights

By James Cullum

Published September 2, 2026 at 2:45PM

An athletic field (via St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School/Facebook)

Friday night lights may be headed to St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School in Alexandria’s Seminary Ridge neighborhood.

A special use permit request to erect field lighting on poles in excess of 35 feet to light the football and soccer fields at the school at 1000 St. Stephens Road is heading to the city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Around Town

Del Ray Farmhouse Market and Garden seeks city permit for small live music stage

By James Cullum

Published August 5, 2026 at 2:45PM

A new stage at the Del Ray Farmhouse Market and Garden at 1913 Mount Vernon Avenue (via City of Alexandria)

The owner of the Del Ray Farmhouse Market and Garden (1913 Mount Vernon Avenue) is asking the city for permission to use a small entertainment stage for live music or a DJ.

Jay Portlance is asking the city for permission to use the small stage at the corner of Mount Vernon Avenue and E. Howell Avenue for groups of musicians no larger than two pieces.

News

Alexandria officials and residents push back against planned data center near city limits

By Emily Leayman

Published July 27, 2026 at 1:45PM | Updated August 5, 2026 at 9:33AM

Data center server (via Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash)

Data center plans just outside Alexandria city limits has raised concerns among residents and officials.

Starwood Capital Group filed the permit application and building plans to Fairfax County for the 34-acre Plaza 500 site at 6299 Edsall Road in Lincolnia. The application is for Plaza 500 South, the first of two data center buildings it is seeking.

News

Virginia Paving asks for five-year extension of West End asphalt plant’s 2027 closing deadline

By James Cullum

Published June 22, 2026 at 2:45PM

Virginia Paving Company facility near the Van Dorn Metro station (via City of Alexandria)

Seven years after being given a date by the city to clear out of Alexandria’s West End, Virginia Paving Company is asking for a five-year extension.

Asphalt production operations have been at the 11-acre site at 5601 Courtney Avenue since 1960. The proposal would extend the mandated sunset date for asphalt plant operations from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2032, according to planning documents.

News

Hotel Heron in Old Town wants live DJ music at its rooftop restaurant

By James Cullum

Published May 29, 2026 at 2:45PM

The proposed area for live entertainment at the Hotel Heron’s rooftop restaurant at 699 Prince Street in Old Town (via City of Alexandria)

The Hotel Heron in Old Town wants to add live DJ entertainment at its rooftop restaurant, according to a plan going before the Planning Commission next week.

The 134-room boutique hotel at 699 Prince Street, near the intersection with S. Washington Street, opened in 2024 and is owned by the Aparium Hotel Group. The hotel’s rooftop restaurant, Good Fortune, opened soon after, and now the hotel owners are asking the city to approve DJ and live music Thursday to Sunday nights.

News

Alexandria releases draft Housing 2040 Plan ahead of public hearings

By Emily Leayman

Published May 26, 2026 at 11:45AM

As seen at the 204-unit affordable housing apartment complex Samuel Madden Homes, Nov. 12, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria has released its draft Housing 2040 Plan, which will set new housing goals for the next 15 years, ahead of June public hearings.

The Housing 2040 Plan is slated to replace the city’s current Housing Master Plan, which was first approved in 2013. That plan had a goal of producing and preserving 2,000 affordable housing units by 2025, and the city exceeded that goal when counting units under construction.

News

Old Town North power plant redevelopment and funding plans heading to city review

By James Cullum

Published May 20, 2026 at 9:15AM

A cyclist along a path in Old Town North near the old power plant (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

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.

News

Backyard beekeeping regulations stall in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published May 14, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated May 14, 2026 at 4:07PM

A bee at Windmill Hill Park in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria Planning Commission has deferred a plan to implement citywide beekeeping policies, finding that city staff needed to conduct more outreach and research.

On May 5, city staff told the Planning Commission that its community outreach was limited to a consultation with a member of the Northern Virginia Beekeepers Association. There are no existing provisions regulating beekeeping in Alexandria. The city’s plan would have allowed two hives on lots smaller than 5,000 square feet, with an additional hive for every additional 2,500 square feet of property, and 5-to-10-foot setbacks for those hives.

News

Developer wants to keep pump house at former power plant site in Old Town North

By James Cullum

Published May 5, 2026 at 3:45PM

View from the proposed pump house roof deck at the former PRGS site in Old Town North (via HRP Group)

HRP Group wants to keep the pump house at the former coal-fired Potomac River Generating Station property in Old Town North, representatives said during meeting last night (Monday).

The developer rolled out the plan for Blocks B and C of the sprawling project in an hour-and-a-half-long Zoom meeting. The development is spread across six blocks, and entails the full deconstruction of the former power plant, replacing it with more than 10 acres of public open space, as well as mixed-use apartment and retail buildings.