From protests over evictions to outrage over living conditions, complaints at the Southern Towers Apartment complex in Alexandria’s West End have become somewhat commonplace over the last few years.
The aging five-building complex is home to an estimated 7,000 people living in about 2,000 workforce apartments. One maintenance worker told ALXnow that he fixes at least two riser leaks per month on the property, the most recent of which affected 14 apartments in The Sherwood building last month.
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating alleged car thefts that resulted in a high-speed chase across state lines.
At around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, APD was notified of multiple men in ski masks in a dark blue minivan and a white 2016 Acura MDX trying to break into vehicles in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 4600 block of Duke Street. The 911 caller observed the incident from a surveillance video, according to APD scanner traffic.
The Alexandria Police Department found an Alexandria man who was beaten, robbed and naked outside his apartment building in the West End last month.
APD responded to a call for service for a possible assault at around 11:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5, outside an apartment building in the 4300 block of Duke Street.
(Updated 9:35 a.m.) After being unable to find a handgun or shell casing, the Alexandria Police Department (APD) is investigating the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy in a West End apartment building as “suspicious.”
The shooting occurred in an apartment in the 300 block of S. Whiting Street at around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 29), according to APD. The call to police was made by a person who said that the victim shot himself, but APD could not find a firearm or shell casing at the scene, according to scanner traffic.
The future of Alexandria’s West End is being reevaluated with a series of open houses in the coming days.
City staff are working to update Alexandria’s long-term vision for the 1992 Alexandria West Small Area Plan and integrate it with the 2012 Beauregard Small Area Plan.
With the reopening of the Dash Transit Center at the future WestEnd development years away, Alexandria is looking to ask Richmond to help pay for $800,000 in temporary bus bays, benches and real-time signage.
(Updated at 4 p.m. on Oct. 18) For at least five weeks, Loren DePina and her family will be forced live in a one-bedroom apartment until flooding damage in her three-bedroom Southern Towers apartment is fixed.
DePina’s and 13 other apartments at Southern Towers’ Sherwood building (5001 Seminary Road) were significantly damaged early Sunday morning by a water leak that worked its way from the eighth floor of the 15-story building all the way to the first floor. Video of the damage showed residents wading through inches of water in apartments and hallways and flooded elevators.
Bad Axe Throwing‘s new West End location at 617 S Pickett Street is having a grand opening celebration this weekend, Alexandria Living Magazine first reported.
A representative of the ax-throwing bar said the location is currently open, but is planning a grand opening celebration this Friday and Saturday.
A 31-year-old Alexandria man is out on bond after being charged with allegedly brandishing a firearm and impersonating a police officer in the parking garage of his West End apartment complex. A search of the suspect’s vehicle yielded a firearm, stun gun, handcuffs, zip ties and a Geek Squad badge.
The incident occurred at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, in the 2800 block of Park Center Drive. Two tow truck employees were in the parking garage, when they saw a white BMW drive out of the garage and made eye contact with the driver, police said in a recently released search warrant affidavit.
While the plan is to eventually create a new transit hub in the Landmark Mall redevelopment, the city is looking for grant funding to make the key transfer point more bearable in the near term.
The Transportation Commission is scheduled to vote on Wednesday, Oct. 18, to endorse a grant application to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation for up to $544,000.
After decades in business, a local restaurant near Alexandria’s West End border will close at the end of the month.
Foxfire Grill owner Terri Fox recently announced the closure on the company website and social media. The restaurant with American fare at 6550 Little River Turnpike has weathered mixed reviews over the years, and even got a makeover in 2019 from celebrity chef Robert Irvine from Restaurant Impossible.
