It was a busy week in Alexandria, and there is plenty to talk about.
The city is moving forward with phase three of reopening its economy on July 1, and the news comes as the death toll from the coronavirus moved up to 50 and the number of cases steadily rise.
After years of inaction, a new applicant is hoping to take a crack at converting the vacant Waterfront Center office building in Old Town at 801 N. Fairfax Street into a residential development.
“Interest in converting the nearly 50-year-old office building dates back to at least 2015, when the property owner for both office buildings approached the City about converting the 801 N. Fairfax Street building to residential,” said the applicant, A & A Limited Partnership. “The property owner demonstrated that floor area ratio (FAR), setbacks, parking and open space requirements could be satisfied in a ‘by-right’ conversion from office to multifamily residential.”
A local nonprofit is planning to renovate an office building in Old Town into a facility dedicated to helping individuals with special needs get access to job training.
The Joey Pizzano Memorial Fund (JPMF), an Alexandria based nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children with special needs and their families, is planning to build a Community Integration Center — a facility aimed at providing adults with disabilities with training and resources for their personal and employment goals — at 919 Prince Street. The facility will also include two accessory dwelling units.
A suite of new improvements could be coming to the Schuyler Hamilton Skate Park and Luckett Field just off Duke Street at 3540 Wheeler Avenue.
The Planning Commission is docketed to review the new safety improvements at the park at the June 2 meeting.
The Alexandria Planning Commission unanimously approved a new maritime center for the Tall Ship Providence on Tuesday night.
If passed by city council, the 18th-century replica ship will be docked at a new floating pier at Waterfront Park.
After months of gathering feedback, city staff have a better idea of what residents of Arlandria and Del Ray think their communities need.
The public feedback is the first step in an ongoing effort to update the plans for Del Ray and Arlandria made in the early 2000s.
The enormous power plant in North Old Town has been shut down for nearly a decade, but plans have finally emerged to break the property up into smaller parcels for redevelopment.
The Potomac River Generating Station, more commonly known around Alexandria by its former name GenOn — which still adorns the building’s signs — was decommissioned in 2012.
The Alexandria Planning Commission is scheduled to consider a plan update to increase the number of affordable housing units in Eisenhower East.
Under the proposal, 10% of additional residential rental development will be devoted to affordable rental units. At full buildout, the plan anticipates up to 400-450 affordable units in Eisenhower East, versus the 66 affordable housing units that currently exist in the area.
Starting a new business can be tricky, and the Alexandria City Council is working to make it easier for a number of establishments to open faster.
This spring, the Planning Commission and City Council will vote on a package of regulatory changes that will speed up the approval processes for a number of new businesses.
North Potomac Yard, the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, affordable housing and more! It’s budget season, and you know what that means — the Alexandria Planning Commission will soon begin looking into prioritizing city-related plans and studies with the updated Interdepartmental Long-range Planning Work Program.
So… what plans and studies will Alexandria focus on in the near future? Don’t worry, those interested will have plenty of meetings to attend.
An auto garage near Braddock could be converted into a new 133-unit residential building for seniors.
The applicant, BRG Tony’s Gulf, LLC, is proposing a 70-foot tall structure called Aspire Alexandria at 1112 First Street, where Tony’s Auto Service is today. The new development would also include a 4,550 square-foot restaurant on the ground floor. The restaurant would be operated by the same management company but would be open to the public.
