The time for farewells is almost up, as the demolition of Landmark Mall starts early next month.
It will take about a week for contractors to relocate the Landmark Mall Transit Center to the northeastern portion of the massive property, followed by site fencing the final week in April and demolition at the beginning of the month — although no exact date has been released on exactly what day walls will start coming down.
David Jasante Cunningham was formally indicted on Monday (April 11) for the murder of Melia Jones in her West End apartment last December, and has also been charged with two counts of object sexual penetration.
The 40-year-old has been held without bond in the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center since his Jan. 11 arrest. Jones, who was described as a having a “gentle and sweet spirit” in her obituary, was killed by asphyxiation, according to the office of Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter.
Alexandria is moving forward this year with plans to shift more of its services to the city’s West End.
In a recent town hall, Mayor Justin Wilson provided an update on plans to consolidate the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) into the former Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) headquarters (4850 Mark Center Drive) at Mark Center. As part of the shuffle, IDA moved to Potomac Yard and redevelopment plans are in the works for one of the DCHS facilities in Del Ray.
A 25-year-old Washington, D.C. man was arrested on March 26 (Saturday) after an assault by mob at William Ramsay Recreation Center (5650 Sanger Avenue).
At around 9:15 p.m., the city’s Department of Emergency Communications got a call of multiple males fighting in the gym of the West End recreation center. When police arrived, a white Chrysler Sebring with Virginia tags attempted to drive away from the scene at “a high rate of speed,” according to a search warrant affidavit. Responding officers blocked the Sebring’s exit and its occupants were detained and questioned.
Inova Alexandria at Landmark will open in about six years, although the plans and timeline are still subject to change. The proposed 675,000 square-foot hospital is 175 feet tall — about 16 stories in height, and will likely forever alter the Alexandria skyline.
Inova unveiled its conceptual designs for three new large buildings at the 10-acre complex site in a community meeting via Zoom on Wednesday night (March 30). The project, which makes up a fifth of the total land use on the 52-acre West End Alexandria development, accounts for 915,000 square feet of usable building space — 675,000 square feet devoted to the new hospital, 130,000 square feet to a cancer center and 110,000 square feet to a specialty outpatient care center.
Three men are being held without bond in the city jail after a robbery and abduction in the West End.
The incident occurred on February 23 at an apartment in the 51oo block of Fairbanks Avenue, which is near the intersection of Seminary Road and N. Beauregard Street. The victim went to the apartment to meet with an “associate”, who asked him for money, but the man said he didn’t have any, according to a search warrant affidavit.
One person was arrested after an assault by mob in the West End on Saturday night (March 26).
Police reported that at around 9:20 p.m., police responded to a group of people fighting on a basketball court at in the 5600 Block of Sanger Avenue. No weapons were reported at the event, and the victim refused medical treatment after receiving minor injuries.
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the city’s first homicide of 2022 in West End.
Officers responded around 6:50 a.m. Wednesday to the 4500 block of Raleigh Avenue for an unresponsive person lying in the bushes, police said. When they arrived, they discovered Alexandria resident Elijah Williams, 25, dead on the sidewalk near one of the residences.
The week was filled with trees blooming across the city during the peak for cherry blossoms.
Aside from picturesque scenes throughout Alexandria, there were some local stories that interested you all — from new pizza places to court updates in crime cases. And at the City Council’s meeting, Dominion Energy said it will invest millions of dollars in Alexandria to prevent future outages like the one at Art on the Avenue last year.
Inova has filed concept plans for the 10-acre site that will relocate the Alexandria hospital to the former Landmark Mall property and is expected to start construction in 2024.
Phase I of the campus construction proposal includes a 565,525-square-foot level 2 trauma hospital with below-grade and structured parking, a 107,239-square-foot cancer center and a 88,085-square-foot specialty care building, according to the development concept plan filed with the city last week. The existing parking garage will remain, adding 550 parking spaces for the campus to the additional 950 spaces to be constructed.
The case against a man suspected of killing his West End neighbor in December will go to a grand jury next month.
David Jasante Cunningham has been held without bond in the Alexandria jail since his January 11 arrest on a second-degree murder charge of 23-year-old Melia Jones. Police found Jones dead in her in her apartment in the unit block of South Van Dorn Street on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at around 2:40 p.m.
