On June 24, the City will hold the fourth and final Community Dialogue in the What’s Next Alexandria planning process from 7 to 9 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 2932 King Street. Participants will review the draft elements of the Civic Engagement Handbook and work collaboratively to develop a communications and outreach infrastructure to guide future participation in public decision-making processes in the City. The draft elements of the Civic Engagement Handbook will be posted for community review on the What’s Next Alexandria website in advance of the June 24 meeting, with opportunity for comment continuing through part of the summer, and in advance of City Council review in the fall.

What’s Next Alexandria is a City initiative to collaborate with the community on improving and expanding public participation in City decision-making processes.

Childcare and simultaneous Spanish translation will be provided. If you cannot attend the meeting in person, the City will offer the opportunity to participate online in real time via a “Virtual Table.” For more information about the meeting and the virtual table, call 703.746.3855 or visit alexandriava.gov/WhatsNext.

Transportation options to the event include DASH bus AT-5 and AT-6 or Metrobus 28A, which stops at T.C. Williams High School. Check schedules at www.wmata.com and www.dashbus.com. On-site parking is available, but rides and carpooling are encouraged. For assistance with rides and carpooling, call 703.746.3855.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended. To request a reasonable accommodation, e-mail Graciela Moreno at Graciela.Moreno@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.4666, Virginia Relay 711

What's Next Alexandria Third Community Dialogue

Join your neighbors on Tuesday, April 30, at 7 p.m. for the third Community Dialogue in the City's What's Next Alexandria civic engagement initiative. The event will be held at First Baptist Church, 2932 King Street.

Community members will hear the results of the most recent online poll, affirm the final community generated civic engagement principles and discuss what implementation of What's Next Alexandria will look like, sharing concrete examples of how the principles and process will be applied in the future. For those unable to attend in person, the City will offer live Internet video engagement, allowing viewers to watch live video from the event and interact with other viewers in group exercises through a moderated live chat.

Childcare and simultaneous Spanish translation will be provided. Transportation options to the event include DASH bus AT-5 and AT-6 or Metrobus 28A; on-site parking, but rides and carpooling are encouraged. For assistance with rides and carpooling, call 703.746.3855.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended. To request a reasonable accommodation, e-mail Graciela.Moreno@alexandriava.gov or call 703-746-4666, Virginia Relay 711.

To register for the meeting and find more information, visit Alexandriava.gov/WhatsNext or call 703.746.3855.

Second Public Meeting on Landmark Mall Redevelopment Set for May 1

The Howard Hughes Corporation, which owns the central section of the Landmark Mall site, has submitted an application to the City for redevelopment of the portion of Landmark Mall between the existing Sears and Macy’s stores. This project will hopefully be the first phase of a larger eventual build-out of the site as was envisioned in the Landmark/Van Dorn Corridor Plan.

The City and the Howard Hughes Corporation presented the concept for the redevelopment at a well-attended community meeting on Monday, April 8.  The second meeting on this project is planned for May 1 and is a follow up to this first meeting. The community meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Landmark Mall, on the second floor of the former Lord and Taylor space. 

At the May 1 meeting, community members can ask additional questions and offer opinions on a variety of topics relating to transit, school impacts, and how this first phase proposal relates to the eventual build out of the site, particularly in terms of how it complies with the Landmark/Van Dorn Corridor Plan.

As noted at the April 8 meeting, the proposal calls for demolition of the two-story central area of the mall and replacement of this portion with a mixed-use residential and retail complex with a traditional street grid, sidewalks, trees, and open space.  This application calls for approximately 250,000 to 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, along with approximately 350 to 400 apartments. Howard Hughes Corporation has been working in conjunction with adjoining property owners, Sears and Macy’s, to explore the feasibility of this redevelopment of Landmark Mall as a mixed-use project. 

The Howard Hughes Corporation owns, manages and develops commercial, residential and mixed-use real estate throughout the country. The company owns a number of significant and successful retail properties, including South Street Seaport (Manhattan, NY), various properties in Columbia Town Center (Columbia, MD), Riverwalk Marketplace (New Orleans, LA), Rio West Mall (Gallup, NM), Cottonwood Square (Holladay, UT), Park West (Peoria, AZ) and Ward Centers (Honolulu, HI).

For more information about this proposal, please come to the community meeting on May 1, visit the City’s Landmark Mall Redevelopment page  or call Colleen Willger in the City Department of Planning and Zoning at 703.746.3817.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended. To request a reasonable accommodation, e-mail colleen.willger@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.3817, Virginia Relay 711.

Alexandria City Council Approves Beauregard Rezoning

Today, the Alexandria City Council voted 6 to 1 to approve the zoning that begins the process of implementing the Beauregard Small Area Plan.

This rezoning permits increased development, while requiring substantial developer contributions. Future redevelopment will require additional applications, public process, and subsequent approval by City Council, including review by a Beauregard Design Advisory Committee.
 
The City Council approved the Beauregard Small Area Plan in June, 2012, after several years of public engagement, which produced the vision for this area over the next 20-30 years. Community benefits include:

• Dedicating, over time, at least 800 units of committed affordable and workforce housing with the goal to increase dedicated affordable and workforce housing units substantially above 800.
• Tenant relocation assistance for displaced residents, including referrals to comparable units in the Plan area as well as a financial payment to help with moving costs 
• Establishing a neighborhood town center, offering expanded retail and restaurant choices, and a new grocery store
• Building a new fire station to improve emergency capacity
• Improving the Seminary-Beauregard intersection
• Adding convenient, frequent high-capacity bus rapid transit service
• Providing approximately 44 acres of public open space and a new athletic field for community recreation
• Adding new local streets to create a walkable community
• Providing 40 percent tree canopy as part of redevelopment
• Incorporating nearly six miles of new bike lanes and multi-use trails

“The City of Alexandria has made an unprecedented commitment to preserving and protecting affordable housing, and the Beauregard Small Area Plan reflects that commitment,” said Mayor William D. Euille. “We have listened to the community and to developers. We have worked hard to ensure that, through this rezoning, our long-term vision for Beauregard includes affordable housing, infrastructure improvements, a strengthened transportation system, and a public/private partnership that will provide resources so these enhancements can be realized.  The plan will also ensure that the Beauregard area will become a walkable community with connectivity, accessibility and a new street grid.”

The rezoning requires developer contributions of $215 million, over about two decades, for community improvements, including affordable housing, a new fire station, transit, and open space. Nearly $159 million is directly contributed by developers, and $66 million of the total will be used to pay for the affordable housing components of the Plan. Of the rest, $52 million will be used for transit and road improvements, $10 million to construct a fire station, and more than $12 million to pay for recreation and other public amenities. In addition, the City will contribute $68 million, which will be derived from new taxes that the Beauregard development will generate, as well as some affordable housing monies.
For more information about the Beauregard Small Area Plan and rezoning, visit alexandriava.gov/BeauregardPlan.

From West End Patch by Rachel Leonard.

More than 200 people crowded into the community room at Landmark Mall on Monday night to hear how the Howard Hughes Corp. plans to redevelop the central portion of the mall into seven blocks in an urban town center with retail, restaurants and residential space.  See the entire article: Click here.

Public Meeting Scheduled on Landmark Mall Plans

The Howard Hughes Corp. plans to demolish the central area of the mall and replace it with a mixed-use residential and retail complex. See WEST END PATCH Thanks to Rachel Leonard!!  http://westendalexandria.patch.com/articles/public-meeting-scheduled-on-landmark-mall-plans?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001

For more information about this proposal, come to the public meeting on April 8 or call Colleen Willger in the city Department of Planning & Zoning at 703-746-3817.  The public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the mall in the community room on Level 2, near Bath and Body Works.

Beauregard Rezoning Group Discusses Design Guidelines for Parking, Block Sizes

The Beauregard Rezoning Advisory Group is preparing to send its final recommendations to city officials

What’s Next Alexandria Reminder: Join your Neighbors January 29 to Talk about Civic Engagement in Alexandria

What's Next Alexandria is a community conversation about civic engagement and planning for the future -- and how Alexandrians can best participate in the public decisions that shape the City.  At the next What’s Next Alexandria event, participants will roll up their sleeves and work with their neighbors to lay the groundwork for future civic engagement in the City. Please plan to take part in this second Community Dialogue on Tuesday, January 29, 7 p.m., at the First Baptist Church, 2932 King St. The City encourages all to attend this event and work with their neighbors to improve public participation. Childcare and simultaneous Spanish translation will be provided. First Baptist Church is accessible by DASH bus AT-5 and AT-6 or Metrobus 28A.
For more information and a meeting agenda, visit alexandriava.gov/WhatsNext or contact Carrie Beach at 703.746.3853.

Let Us Know You’re Coming: Encourage your friends and neighbors to join you by registering to attend. (Registration is not required. It assists with planning for the event and helps disseminate information about the meeting.)

Can’t Make the Meeting? Try Participating Online at Our Virtual Table: For those unable to attend this event in person, the City plans to test and evaluate live Internet video engagement, which will let viewers watch live video from the event, participate with other viewers in group exercises through a moderated live chat, and then tell us what they think of this tool for future use. Learn more about how to participate online at alexandriava.gov/WhatsNext.

Transportation Commission Monthly Meeting - January 9, 2013

The next Transportation Commission meeting will take place at City Hall on the 2nd floor in the City Council Workroom on Wednesday, January 9 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm.  The meeting is open to the public.

An agenda and meeting materials are posted on the Commission website at >>
http://alexandriava.gov/TransportationCommission

If you have questions or need further information about the Transportation Commission, please contact Mr. Steve Sindiong at steve.sindiong@alexandriava.gov.

The City of Alexandria and ACTion Alexandria invite you to participate online [www.actionalexandria.org/principles] in refining the principles of civic engagement discussed at the November 15, 2012 What’s Next Alexandria Community Dialogue.  This online event, open to all Alexandrians, will run until January 14.    

Your input will form the basis of the Second Community Dialogue scheduled for January 29, 2013, 7 p.m., at First Baptist Church, 2932 King St. The goal of the January Dialogue is to complete work on the principles of civic engagement and discuss the methods for achieving those principles, including the range of approaches identified by the community.  Childcare and simultaneous Spanish translation will be available.
 
For more information, visit alexandriava.gov/WhatsNext or contact Carrie Beach, project manager, at 703.746.3853.