We made it to Friday in Alexandria! Here’s a look at our top stories of the week.
Our top post was on the plan to close Waterfront Park and Point Lumley Park for two years. It’s part of the city’s efforts to fight flooding by rebuilding sections of sea wall and installing a pump station to recirculate floodwaters to the Potomac River.
Akeno Sushi Bar wants to open before the end of the year at 611 King Street in Old Town, but it has to get a few paperwork issues squared away with the City of Alexandria to make that possible.
The interior renovation of the former home to Java Grill hasn’t started, as the local business is asking the city for an allowance to install a new HVAC system on the roof without a mechanical screen. The proposal going to the Planning Commission on Wednesday (April 16) would replace two HVAC units, add a third unit, and install an exhaust fan.
There’s been a gas station at 4001 Mount Vernon Avenue in Arlandria since 1941, and now the owner is asking the city to allow it to continue operating as-is for 10 more years.
The city approved the current kiosk, canopy, and pump islands at the Exxon station in 1974, but the 17,000-foot property was rezoned as a commercial low (CL) zone in 1992. Since then, it has undergone city reviews to continue operating.
Sweeping plans to modernize George Mason Elementary School (2601 Cameron Mills Road) will soon head to the Alexandria Planning Commission.
Alexandria City Public Schools anticipates relocating staff and students three-and-a-half miles away at the end of this school year to swing space 1703 N. Beauregard Street. If the project timeline stays on track, ACPS will cut the ribbon on the new two-story building in the summer of 2027.
Plans to replace an office building in the West End with a 345-unit apartment building are heading to city review.
According to city records, the applicant, 1900 Beauregard Property Owner LLC, a New York-based company, bought the four-building, 300,000-square-foot Beauregard Professional Center for $12.6 million in 2021.
The latest site plan for one of the last undeveloped areas of the Alexandria waterfront—Robinson Terminal North—envisions restaurants, retail, apartments, expanded open space, and even a hotel.
The Planning Commission will review a development special use permit (DSUP) proposal and site plan for the former industrial site in Old Town North on May 6 (Tuesday).
A plan to convert a former motel on N. Washington Street into a multifamily building and a townhouse is heading to the Planning Commission early next month.
Maryland-based PT Blooms is asking the city to approve plans to redevelop the property at 802 and 808 N. Washington Street into The Whitley — Phase 2, a 48-unit building with one-to-three bedroom condos. That’s the former Old Towne Motel property, which has been closed for years.
Alexandria’s Planning Commission threw its voice behind criticisms that Alexandria City Public Schools dropped the ball on the recent K-8 and PreK-8 school conversions controversy.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously last week in support of a letter concerning the George Mason Elementary School Modernization project and the Pre-K-8 School Capacity Planning Project, both of which faced scrutiny for lapses in public engagement.
A new breakfast spot in Del Ray stirred up a discussion at the Planning Commission on Tuesday about whether Alexandria has too many trailers.
The plan is to add a pair of trailers for the food truck French Toast to the lot behind 1506 Mount Vernon Avenue. It was docketed for the consent calendar, but Planning Commissioner Mindy Lyle said the trailers represent a negative trend taking place across city planning in Alexandria.
Next week the Planning Commission is scheduled to review a special use permit that could bring the French Toast food truck and a new salad restaurant Salad Topia to Del ray.
The special use permit is for 1506 Mount Vernon Avenue. the restaurant would be inside the building while French Toast would operate from trailers behind the building.
Alexandria’s Planning Commission endorsed a new pilot program (docket item 4) that will allow on-street vending in designated spaces on Mount Vernon Avenue as consistent with the city’s master plan.
The one-year pilot will allow limited vending on the 3800 block of Mount Vernon Avenue. Vendors are allowed to sell whole, uncut produce and a limited number of small, non-food items in on-street spaces.
