After two decades of Landmark Mall redevelopment being just out of reach, city officials and developers alike let out wild roars of satisfaction as the wrecking ball crashed into the side of the building today (Thursday).
There’s still a long way to go before the first buildings of the new hospital and mixed-use development start coming online — currently slated for 2026. Still, demolition marked the furthest point of progress for redevelopment since meetings to that effect started in 2008.
A three-car crash has temporarily shut down part of Seminary Road near the intersection with N. Beauregard Street.
Alexandria Police said in a release that the crash has shut down westbound traffic on Seminary Road after Mark Center Avenue, between N. Beauregard Street and I-395.
Alexandria police responded to the sounds of gunfire found a man shot early this morning.
The shooting happened during a suspected robbery just after 1 a.m. behind the shopping center in the 600 block of South Pickett Street in the Landmark area.
More details have emerged after three men were charged with a robbery and abduction in the West End.
Anthony Henriquez-Prudencio, 19, Adalberto Santamaria, 19, and Manfredy Aguilar-Ruiz, 22, of Washington, D.C. were formally indicted for robbery and abduction on April 1 and go to a grand jury trial on August 23 — six months after the date of the incident. They have been held without bond in the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center since their arrest on February 23.
A building that could be effectively City Hall 2 will bear the name of recently retired City Council Member Del Pepper, but some of the finer details remain to be worked out.
The building at 4850 Mark Center Drive will house services from the Department of Community and Human Services, Alexandria Health Department and Neighborhood Health, along with a permit center and financial services. The goal of the new facility is gather desperate services across the city into a central non-Old Town location.
Alexandria Police are investigating an aggravated assault that occurred in the Landmark area of the West End on Sunday night (April 17).
The 32-year-old victim was did not seek medical attention and there have been no arrests, police said. The incident occurred at around 3 a.m. in the 500 block of S. Van Dorn Street.
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.
