Concept rendering for view of the property from Montgomery and N. Saint Asaph streets. Photo Contributed
The empty lot in North Old Town, formerly home to Giant, will soon be home for 232-units of residential development. Local citizens protested the traffic and parking impact of the new building, and while City Council did tighten the on-street parking requirement, City Council approved the development at the March 12 public hearing.
While the Giant shared the space with a parking lot, the new structure will take up the entire block. The 232 multi-family residential complex will feature retail on the ground floor with 481 parking spaces below ground. Height of the property ranges between 27 feet and 77 feet, with the architecture highlighting the area’s industrial past.
“I know we’re wedded to talking about colonial architecture and fancy red brick buildings,” said Catharine Puskar, the attorney representing the developer, Edens, “but Alexandria was also an industrial city at one point. What we’re trying to do with this point is create that same neighborhood identity in Old Town North.”
However, local residents say it’s not the outside of the building that has them concerned, but the impact on traffic caused by the residents inside, particularly at the corner of N. St Asaph and Montgomery streets.
While ultimately the City Council voted 6-1 in favor of the redevelopment, residents won concessions on parking. After local residents protested on-street parking permits given to tenants of the new housing, Puskar acknowledged that the garage has more than enough parking for its residents and that the residents would not need on-street parking. Councilwoman Del Pepper and Councilman John Chapman both said they’d visited the neighborhood and had seen the parking problems first hand. City Council amended their approval of the project to restrict on-street parking for residents of the building.