Hotels, hotels, hotels! A few weeks ago, the City Council unanimously approved the seventh hotel within walking distance from the King Street Metro. This one borders on historic Harvard Street, and it will disrupt not only the residents, but the streetscape of early 20th century, two-story homes on that street. I fail to see why Alexandria needs another hotel when the current citywide occupancy rate hovers around 70 percent?
Now comes yet another hotel; this one with a “boutique” appellation. It will consist of 64 rooms, and it will be located at 115 South Union St. This boutique hotel will be the third waterfront hotel if the Robinson Terminal North site on Oronoco Street is developed (although no hotel chain has yet offered to pick up this location). Although the Waterfront Plan specifically mandates that no more than two hotels should be built on the waterfront, the city maintains that the new boutique hotel was not in the Waterfront Planning area, therefore, it doesn’t count. To me, this is a form of hotel “gerrymandering.”
This boutique hotel will contribute to our parking problems. Patrons of the hotel’s 20-seat outdoor dining facility must fend for themselves regarding parking, since restaurants on the waterfront need not provide parking for their customers. To make matters worse, the developer is asking for a 13 space reduction to the current parking arrangements, which consists of 65 parking spaces for the general public on the first floor, and 32 parking spaces for hotel guests on the second floor. Since parking spaces for diners and most of their employees will not be provided, this impacts the parking on our congested Old Town streets, especially in our residential areas.
Every development seems to request a parking reduction, which is always approved by City Council without much ado. At some point in the not too distant future, visiting Old Town Alexandria will not be worth the effort, given the ongoing parking constraints. The Alexandria goose that lays the golden egg is getting very nervous indeed.
Townsend A. “Van” Van Fleet
Alexandria