14 reasons to be excited to be an alexandrian: part one
Robinson Terminal North
A few months ago, we first introduced to you The Patterson Group. This real estate team knows our city inside and out, and so who better to fill us in on all of the changes happening in Alexandria? We are grateful to Brittany Patterson who has given us fourteen reasons to be excited to live in Alexandria right now. Today’s post includes the first seven reasons which are primarily development-based–soon we won’t even recognize much of Old Town! Next week she will give us the details on new restaurant openings, hotels, entertainment and much more!
1) The 1950s Travel Lodge located on the 700 and 710 block of North Washington Street is scheduled to be demolished and will be replaced by a 4 story, mixed use building with 1 level of underground parking. Plans include 30 residences and 6,200 square feet of ground floor retail space. The plans were reviewed Monday night by the Board of Architectural Review. As I write this, the meeting is still taking place.
2) North Old Town’s 25 acre power plant site is finally getting the attention it deserves and a plan in place for its future. The VA Department of Environment Quality approved a 5-year plan to clean up and contain the estimated 17,000 gallons of heating oil that may have contaminated the soil. The plan includes 3 years of cleanup and 2 years of monitoring, but paves the way for a land use plan for North Old Town. Alexandria City leaders have expressed an interest for mixed-used development.
3) Only one residence remains at Alexandria’s finest and newest riverfront condo community, The Oronoco. The building sold for the highest price per square foot in Alexandria history averaging at $900-$1,000/sq ft. The last remaining residence, located on the 6th floor, is listed for $2,995,000 and offers 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 balconies, and 3,390 square feet.
The Oronoco
(Source.)
4) North Robinson Terminal is getting closer to final city design approval. The development between City Interest and JBG is slated to house a mix of residential housing on the upper floors, ground floor retail on 3 sides, a hotel, and attached glass pavilion. Consequently, residential housing prices here are expected to be higher than The Oronoco and average $1,300 a square foot.
Robinson Terminal North
(Source.)
5) The 3.5 acre site of the South Robinson Terminal is close to breaking ground. Developer EYA has slated 26 elevator townhomes, condos, dining and retail.
Robinson Terminal South
(Source.)
6) Hotel Indigo, site of the former Cummings Warehouse, is scheduled to open Summer 2016 and will feature a 5,000 square foot terrace with fire pits, food and drink service, and will be open to both guests and the general public.
7) North Old Town’s Giant grocery store has closed and Eden’s, a South Carolina based developer whose other known projects include Mosaic District and Union Market, is scheduled to purchase and develop the entire block between Montgomery Street and First Street.
10 Comments
I don’t agree that these changes are exciting. How will the increase traffic be mitigated? The roads are already at capacity. Our beautiful community will lose its charm to short term economic gain. The developers will make money and the city will get tax revenue. That is about it. What about the future generations of Alexandrians? Will our children be priced out of the housing market? Will we have increased air pollution with the increased traffic and idling cars? Why not create more open space for our community. I love Old Town and the thought of this special community losing it charm is devastating. This actually makes me very sad for the future of Alexandria.
Most of us are already unable to afford to live in Old Town, and of course building less housing will not make Old Town more affordable. Adding attractive buildings, that will add customers to Old Town businesses, and also contribute tax revenues for the City’s many needs, seems like a good idea to me. The total number of units is probably not enough to make that big a difference to traffic (the old power plant and warehouses also generated traffic) and by improving the riverfront trails, we can make it more attractive to walk and bike in that area. We can and should continue to emphasize transit, walking, and biking as ways to deal with congestion and auto emissions.
Ken, I couldn’t agree with you more. Why do so many people think that allowing more housing to be built is going to make the area more expensive? The only reason rental rates haven’t continued to skyrocket in the past couple years is because of a dozen new apartment buildings that have delivered all over Alexandria (Potomac Yard, Braddock Metro, Harris Teeter in OT, Eisenhower ave, etc). Stop the development and it will only get more expensive, more quickly.
love the inside scoop…thank y’all.
xo
alexandraannm
[…] 14 reasons it’s an exciting time to be an Alexandrian – Good list here (Part I of II). Check it out. (Alexandria Stylebook) […]
I agree with the author’s excitement. As to the comment about more traffic, the way to fix this is to give people alternatives so they don’t feel the need to drive all the time: improved transit and better bicycle facilities. (There are already ample sidewalks for people who walk.) Those are things we need to keep in mind as we pursue redevelopment opportunities, not just in Old Town but throughout the city.
Great info and tons to look forward to in North Old Town. Our city desperately needs a facelift and these developments are just the thing. With so many of our older warehouses unhealthy and inhabitable, this development, along with some much needed retail can only help our community. Traffic has always been an issue in Old Town, thanks to all the folks from Maryland that love to commute through our community and all the tourists in their buses that stop to visit our historic district. Any new development in north of our town should be viewed as a breath of fresh air and a welcome addition to an area that needs it!
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As a millennial without a car looking for a walkable place to live with great retail and access to open spaces and metro, Old Town is great alternative to DC. These developments make me more likely to move to old town and frankly I doubt other people in my age group will disagree. I’m moving!