Planning Commission | ALXnow

Healthplex, Housing and More: What’s Next for Oakville Triangle?

Published December 29, 2020 at 3:45PM

Proposed Inova facility in the Oakville Triangle (image via City of Alexandria)

Shortly after the City Council approved overall plans for the new Oakville Triangle, developers are coming back to the city next Tuesday (Dec. 5) with specific development applications for various pieces of the development.

Developers have submitted three applications for sites in the development area, including the creation of development blocks and the medical facility. The first application would lay out a street grid and infrastructure for the new development. In total, four development blocks would be created.

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Seminary Hill Methodist Church Rebuilding, Selling Property to St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School

By Vernon Miles

Published December 17, 2020 at 2:45PM

Rendering of new St. Andrews United Methodist Church (image via City of Alexandria)

St. Andrews United Methodist Church (845 N Howard Street) on Seminary Hill is seeking Planning Commission approval to demolish and rebuild its church on a smaller lot.

The church is headed to the Planning Commission on Tuesday, Jan. 5, seeking permission subdivide its current lot to reconstruct the church on one part of the property closer to the street and sell the rest to St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School.

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Planning Commission Approves Potomac Yard Park Expansion

By Vernon Miles

Published December 2, 2020 at 1:30PM

While further south Alexandria is finalizing plans for the northern end of the Old Town Waterfront, the overall north point of the Alexandria waterfront is about to get some love too.

At a Planning Commission meeting yesterday approved plans for several new pieces of Potomac Yard, including a sweeping new plan for a 4.6 acre extension at Potomac Yard Park that will run from just south of the planned Potomac Yard Metro station to Four Mile Run.

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Alexandria Refines Accessory Dwelling Units Policy and Cuts Parking Requirement

By Vernon Miles

Published December 2, 2020 at 10:50AM

Alexandria is moving forward with plans to implement new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) policies aimed at making it easier to build units both attached to existing houses and separately on residential lots.

ADUs are generally small units sold or rented out to residents other than those in the main house. ADUs increase the availability of housing stock and have been eyed as a potential solution to the decline in market-rate affordable housing. These hopes for ADUs are also frequently paired with concerns that they could add density to Alexandria’s existing neighborhoods.

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New Report Recommends Making Voluntary Affordable Housing Contributions Mandatory in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published November 30, 2020 at 4:45PM

If you want to build bonus density, office-to-housing conversions, or continuum of care facilities in Alexandria, a new report says you should have to pony up a little extra cash to support affordable housing.

Trading density and other exceptions to zoning code for a contribution to the affordable housing fund has been a longstanding practice in Alexandria and other localities, but the new “Update to the City’s Affordable Housing Contribution Policies and Procedures” being presented at Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting includes a recommendation push for that system to be codified.

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Upcoming Signage Plan Could Subtly Shape New Potomac Yard Skyline

By Vernon Miles

Published November 12, 2020 at 11:45AM | Updated November 12, 2020 at 12:12PM

The future of Potomac Yard’s building signage may seem overly technical, but the upcoming discussion at the Dec. 1 Planning Commission meeting could shape the future of the neighborhood’s new skyline.

The goal of the signage program, put together by Elkus Manfredi Architects and Roll Barresi & Associates, is to ensure the design of signage throughout Potomac Yard is consistent as new developments are brought forward.

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Victory Center to Split at Upcoming Planning Commission Meeting

By Vernon Miles

Published November 3, 2020 at 11:30AM

5001 Eisenhower Avenue (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Victory Center has been an anchor along Eisenhower Avenue for years; a towering, empty complex on a massive, vacant parking lot. But that could change this week as plans move forward to subdivide the lot and prepare for future development.

The first part of plans to reshape the Victory Center will be a subdivision going to the Planning Commission on Thursday, Nov. 5.

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Braddock West Project Headed to Planning Commission Later This Year

By Vernon Miles

Published October 30, 2020 at 1:30PM

Months after it was first announced, a new mixed use development called Braddock West is headed to the Planning Commission later this year.

The proposal includes new plans unveiled earlier this fall, showing the seven-story building planned to be located directly east of the Braddock Metro station.

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City Council Approves Virginia Tech Innovation Campus and North Potomac Yard Development Plan

By James Cullum

Published October 19, 2020 at 4:10PM

The Alexandria City Council unanimously approved plans for the first phase of the massive North Potomac Yard redevelopment on Saturday.

Those plans include three academic buildings with significant open space dedicated to computer science research and development programs for the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, open space and a mix of six residential and office buildings.

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Planning Commission to Consider ‘Earl Lloyd Way’ in Old Town

By James Cullum

Published October 6, 2020 at 11:30AM | Updated October 6, 2020 at 11:50AM

The original sculpture of Earl Lloyd at Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (Photo via City of Alexandria)

The Planning Commission on Tuesday will consider a request to name the 1000 block of Montgomery Street in Old Town after Alexandria basketball legend Earl Lloyd, the first Black man to ever play in the National Basketball League.

The honorific street name ‘Earl F. Lloyd Way’ would be located in the Parker-Gray neighborhood in the 1000 block of Montgomery Street between N. Patrick Street and N. Henry Street.

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West End Assisted Living Facility Going to Alexandria Planning Commission

By James Cullum

Published September 21, 2020 at 5:00PM

Massachusetts-based Orr-BSL King, LLC filed an application to build the Benchmark at West Alex continuum of care facility at 3425 North Beauregard Street. (Image via City of Alexandria)

The Alexandria Planning Commission in November will consider a special use permit amendment to increase allowable height for a new continuum of care facility in the West End.

Massachusetts-based Orr-BSL King, LLC filed an application to build Benchmark at West Alex, a 117-unit assisted living facility that would be constructed at 3425 North Beauregard Street.