The days may be numbered for a pair of buildings in the heart of Old Town as developers move forward with plans for demolition and redevelopment.
Developer The Silverman Group is headed to the Planning Commission next month to rezone 615 and 621 King Street, with the ultimate aim of tear down portions of the buildings and replacing them with a new, 24-unit residential building with ground-floor retail.
The Alexandria City Council is poised to approve an amended plan to build a 473-unit affordable housing complex in Arlandria, now that St. Rita Catholic Church has signed off on the project.
Citing safety concerns for parishioners and children, St. Rita Catholic Church and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington sought legal action against the City and the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation when the development was approved in January.
After public outcry over a rushed plan, the Alexandria Planning Commission deferred a city staff proposal to allow developers to build affordable housing into new apartment buildings up to 70 feet in height in areas where height limits are 45 feet or more.
There were more than 30 speakers at the meeting on Thursday, June 23, mostly residents of Del Ray.
As Alexandria prepares to launch its new West End plans, some in city leadership are saying the city should do more to take stock of how systemic racism and discrimination has affected housing city-wide.
At a Planning Commission meeting last night, city staff proposed the start of an update to a 1992 plan that outlines land use in the city’s West End.
As part of a yearly look at the city’s long-term plans, city staff says plans for the West End are in dire need of an update.
A memo prepared by Director of Planning Karl Moritz said the city’s West End plans are out of date by a couple decades. The memo is part of a plan update scheduled for review at the Tuesday, June 7 Planning Commission meeting (Item 7).
A building in the heart of Old Town could be getting a new residential makeover if it can get a special use permit.
“The Applicant, American Real Estate Partners, requests approval of a use permit, pursuant to section 12-101 (D) of the Zoning Ordinance, to convert a portion of the existing building located at 1101 King Street (the “Property”) from office and parking to residential use,” the application said. “The attached concept plan shows the conversion of floors 2 through 7 into approximately 210 residential units (or the number of units that can be supported by the existing parking spaces).”
An update to one of Alexandria’s oldest housing types is headed to the Planning Commission (item 4) with changes that could make it a little more flexible.
Alexandria is seeking to update its zoning for accessory apartments in commercial zones, that is: housing typically build above commercial spaces as commonly seen in Old Town and other parts of Alexandria.
New plans submitted to Alexandria’s Planning Commission indicate that a gravel lot and trailer at 3120 Colvin Street could get turned into a two-story commercial building and motorcycle repair shop.
The new Colvin Street Garage building would replace the current A&B Auto lot and trailer. The new location is just up the street from the Halal slaughterhouse, which garnered some controversy back in 2020.
(Updated 4/15) What on paper might seem like a relatively commonplace resubdivision in Del Ray sparked a broader conversation at the Planning Commission over how uniform the historic neighborhood’s subdivisions should be.
The requested change (item 7) to 105 and 107 East Randolph Avenue was relatively small: increasing the square footage of one lot on Randolph Avenue from 8,250 square feet to 8,828 square feet by taking a portion of the backyard from another lot — both obviously with the same owner.
A private elementary school has gotten the Planning Commission’s endorsement on its plans to move into 424 North Washington Street in spite of concerns at a public hearing that the busy street traffic could make it dangerous for students.
The Potomac Crescent Waldorf School is planning to move into the former daycare facility at the corner of Oronoco Street and North Washington Street this September after getting moved around across a couple locations in Old Town. Paul Nary, Director of Administration, Marketing and Communications at the school, said the school has a current enrollment of 55 students but hopes to grow to 155 over the next few years.
The reshaping of Eisenhower is continuing with a new proposal to convert the office buildings at 2111 and 2121 Eisenhower Avenue into a new residential development called 2121 Eisenhower Avenue.
MidAtlantic Realty Partners LLC is scheduled to apply for a development special use permit and other permits at the May 3 Planning Commisison meeting.
