A Fairfax County man goes to court this week for allegedly crashing his car into an Alexandria Police cruiser while driving drunk.
The incident occurred at around midnight on Sunday, Feb. 26, near the intersection of S. Washington Street and Green Street. There were two officers in the cruiser at the time of the crash. While the airbags were deployed, no one was injured in the crash, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The suspect, a 33-year-old Fairfax County resident, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving. He was released that same day on a $5,000 unsecured bond and goes to court for the offenses tomorrow (Wednesday).
There have been 24 people charged with driving while intoxicated this year in Alexandria, compared to 47 during this same time period last year, 24 in the same time period in 2021, 47 in 2020 and 36 in 2019, according to Alexandria’s crime database.
Map via Google Maps
More than 200 people have signed a petition against ABC Virginia opening a new location on S. Washington Street in Old Town. At the same time, another Change.org petition has gotten about 75 signatures in support of the new liquor store.
A Change.org petition from “Southwest Quadrant Neighbors” has garnered more than 200 signatures, with petitioners complaining that the location at 825 S. Washington Street is “ill-suited as it is located in the middle of a tight-knit residential neighborhood, close to several schools and family and child-oriented establishments, and is without dedicated parking for ABC to secure.”
Virginia ABC is considering the 3,000-square-foot building for a new store, and posted a notification for public comments for two weeks.
“We have received comments both in favor and against the proposed location,” Valerie D. Hubbard, a senior public relations specialist with Virginia ABC, told ALXnow. “We do not have a lease agreement currently.”
Hubbard said that Virginia ABC weighs a number of factors when determining the location for new stores and expanding customer access.
“These include a location’s demographics, traffic patterns, rental rate and population density,” she said. “It also considers the distance of a location to existing stores, sales at those stores, tenant mix at the shopping center, and the accessibility and deliverability to the location. This process has led to the creation of 398 stores throughout the Commonwealth, with 92% of Virginians living only 10 minutes from a Virginia ABC store.”
Those petitioning against ABC moving into the 3,000-square-foot property say that there are four other ABC stores located within two miles of 825 S. Washington Street. There are, in fact, three ABC stores within two miles of the proposed location.
The nearest ABC stores are at 501 Montgomery Street in Old Town North (1.4 miles away), at 3161 Duke Street (about 2.6 miles away), at 5940 Richmond Highway (about 1.4 miles away) in the Huntington area of Fairfax County, and at 1524 Belle View Boulevard in Fairfax County (about 2 miles away).
Opponents say that the new store will result in a crime increase, are “not neighborly,” and will result in decreased parking and increased traffic, but proponents say that there are no ABC stores on the southern section of Old Town.
“It’s a long walk to the north side store that is inconvenient and puts one at risk to other crimes,” states the pro-ABC store petition.
The store is the former home to the Queen Bee Designs pop-up, and is on the same block as Faccia Luna (823 S. Washington Street) and Southside 815 (815 S. Washington Street).
Vienna-based Rosenthal Properties is managing the leasing for the space, which is owned by Writ Limited Partnership.
A new permit filed with the City of Alexandria indicates that some changes could be underway for the Campagna Center at 418 South Washington Street.
The building, constructed in 1888, was once part of the Alexandria City Public Schools system as a school and later as administrative offices. It was converted into office space in 1981 and was purchased by local child education nonprofit Campagna Center in 1993.
The application lists a series of changes that make for a pretty extensive overhaul to the building. The Campagna Center is looking to replace all windows and sill around the building, replace the several brick walls and gates, create a new entrance at the main doorway on the west side (facing S. Washington Street) and create a new eastern entrance that will bring the building into code compliance.
Overall, a staff report on the proposed changes recommended approval.
“After careful review of the existing structure to identify existing historic fabric, staff supports the proposed alterations to the historic structure at 418 South Washington Street and recommends approval of the Certificate of Appropriateness [with conditions],” the report said.
The application is scheduled for review at the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday, Feb. 2.
The full list of proposed changes are listed below the jump.
Longtime Alexandrians may remember when Farrah Olivia at 700 S. Washington Street featured outdoor dining under a canopy. Well Farrah Olivia is gone for good, but the outdoor canopy that was once a feature of the Old Town restaurant could be making a comeback.
In 2013, after Farrah Olivia closed, the building’s owner got a permit to destroy the canopy. Seven years later, they’re back and hoping to put it up again to provide a covered seating for customers at the Balducci’s grocery store.
“Similar to the previously approved canopy structure, the proposed addition will provide an enclosed seating area for patrons of the Balducci’s grocery store on the ground floor of the building,” the applicant said. “The one-story addition is compatible with the existing building and surrounding buildings in terms of height, mass and scale, and the architectural style is compatible with structures throughout Old Town.”
Balducci’s isn’t the only Old Town location that’s been turning toward outdoor solutions for pandemic-induced indoor capacity problems. Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap converted an outdoor parking deck to a tropical oasis and restaurants along King Streep bumped their dining out into the sidewalk areas to add capacity.
The proposal is scheduled to go to the Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Image via District Architecture Studio
There were years of debate and lobbying, Alexandria finally has state authorization to move the Appomattox statue in the middle of the S. Washington Street and Prince Street.
The statue has defenders who say that the statue should not be moved at all. The placement in the center of the street represents the spot where Alexandrians gathered to leave the Union-occupied Alexandria and join the Confederacy. The statue also, pointedly, faces away from Washington D.C. and to the south. While many of the statues being removed across the south glamorize the southern cause, defenders of the statue note that the pose was more solemn.
Opponents of the statue’s location argue that it presents both a traffic hazard and is part of a broader legacy of celebrating both the slavery-supporting Confederate States of America and the lost cause mythos that frequently comprised the bulwark of opposition to the Civil Rights Movement.
Plans approved in 2016 suggested moving the statue to the lawn of the Lyceum, a historical museum that sits at the same intersection. The city lacked the authority to move the statue at that time, but Mayor Justin Wilson said those plans for the statue still stand.
Still others have suggested that the public display of the statue still honors the Confederacy, with suggested alternative locations including the bottom of the Potomac River.
I suggest we offer Alexandria’s statue to the Museum of the Bottom of the Potomac https://t.co/hAZLQUyPpE
— Andrew Beaujon (@abeaujon) February 11, 2020
So with the statue’s future currently uncertain, do you think the statue should be moved? If so, where?
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
Once again, the Confederacy has been handed a defeat in Richmond that sends ripples up to Alexandria.
Alexandria has debated and put plans in place for the Appomattox statue at the intersection of Prince and S. Washington Streets for years, but state law stood in the way of actually making any progress toward removing it.
On Saturday, Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill that authorizing localities to remove or alter Confederate monuments, overturning the earlier state prohibition.
The Appomattox statue is owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and commemorates the Alexandrians who left the Union-occupied city from that spot to join the Confederacy. This May 24 marks the 131st anniversary of the statue in Alexandria.
In 2016, the City Council unanimously approved not only recommending that the statue be moved the nearby grassy lot outside the Lyceum, but began advocating the state authorization to do so. Those petitions fell on deaf ears until last November when Democrats took control of the Virginia legislature and breathed new life into the city’s ambitions to eliminate Confederate memorials and iconography.
A driver nearly accomplished the city’s goals in December: crashing into the statue and fracturing its base, but the statue was subsequently repaired.
“It has been the policy of the city for several years now to pursue movement of the statue out of the middle of Washington Street,” Mayor Justin Wilson said. “We have had dialogue with the Daughters of the Confederacy over the past few months and with the enactment of this legislation, we would now work to realize city policy.”
Former Alexandria Mayor William “Bill” Euille got his start protesting against the statue while he was a student at T.C. Williams High School and applauded Northam’s decision.
“I applaud the governor’s action to allow local governments to make the proper decisions on the relocation and removal or placement of Confederate monuments, which is long overdue, but provides an opportunity to correct racial injustice while allowing for inclusiveness in telling a more complete story,” Euille said. “Alexandria has already studied this matter and a citizens panel has made recommendations to the City Council on how to move forward in fairness while protecting our history.”
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
A new deli is in the works for a building on S. Washington Street that was once Union officers’ quarters during the Civil War.
The site is planned to be turned into Delicious Deli Inc., a full-service, 1,600 square foot restaurant. The restaurant will be a neighbor to Ally & Indy Pet Boutique, which shares the ground floor of the double-house.
While the official title in the documents is Delicious Deli, it is also listed as Manna Chicken and Burger in the application. The owner could not be reached for comment.1
In an application for a Special Use Permit, the restaurant was described as a small, eight-seat restaurant. Menu options will include burgers, chicken and sandwiches.
Somewhat less appealing cuisine was likely served in the 1860s, when the then-recently built double-house was used as Union officer’s quarters, then contraband lodging, and later a medical dispensary, according to its listing on LoopNet.
The restaurant is also planning to apply for permits to serve beer and wine on the premises.
Top photo via Google Maps, plans via KMIN Design Consulting
A few months after telling a pair of local companies to pump the brakes on plans to renovate three Washington Street gas stations, the Board of Architectural Review has approved changes to the facades.
The stations in question are the Shell station at 801 N. Washington Street and a pair of Exxon stations at 703 N. Washington Street and 501 S. Washington Street. There are assorted changes with the stations themselves, but the biggest changes for anyone driving down Washington Street will be the price signs that currently are manually set will be replaced by LED signs that can update as prices change.
At a meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, the BAR unanimously approved the visual overhauls for the three gas stations on Washington Street.
The companies that own the stations had pushed for bigger and more visible signage at a June 5 BAR meeting, but after discussions with staff, the applicants came back with scaled-down plans.
“Fortunately I was in Italy, but I hear things did not go well,” said David Houston, a lawyer representing applicants NOVA Petroleum Realty and Mount Vernon Petroleum Realty, about the June meeting.
The large, plastic Shell sign will be replaced by a smaller 4’x4′ sign with LED lighting on a brick pedestal. The current 14 and 17-foot signs at the Exxon stations will also be replaced by smaller LED-lit signs.
The Exxon stations will continue to have the company logo prominently displayed, but in response to criticism from staff, other parts of the signage was scaled back. The applicants had also originally requested that the sign be illuminated by external lighting, but later adhered to the BAR request that the signs be illuminated only from the LEDs in the sign.
“I want to thank the applicant for coming back and fully integrating all of the comments,” said Christine Roberts, a BAR member. “They managed to come back and make it 100 times better than what it was.”
