The Planning Commission approved the demolition of one city landmark and the revitalization/expansion of another during its meeting Tuesday night.
For those who have enjoyed their holiday meals at the Four Seasons Diner, 557 S. Van Dorn St., this year will be their last chance for that experience. It is scheduled for demolition sometime this winter.
In its place will be a Commerce Bank facility with a planned opening for next October, according to Jim Villars, vice president development, InterState Development Services, LLC. "We hope to start construction this spring with an October opening," he said following the commission meeting.
Taking on new life is one of the largest buildings in Alexandria. The newly named Victory Center, 5001 Eisenhower Avenue, is slated to undergo a complete renovation. It will also be joined by two additional office buildings plus three above-ground parking garages.
Formerly the home of the U.S. Army Materiel Command until its move to Fort Belvoir nearly two years ago, the existing 11-story, 532,900 square feet edifice has sat vacant since then. With a build out of the 16-acre plot, stretching the length of two city blocks along Eisenhower Avenue, developers, Eisenhower Real estate Holdings, L.L.C., hope to garner addition federal government tenants.
That was the rationale for the three above ground parking structures as opposed to placing them underground. Parking under office space and building set-backs were two of the security concerns raised during the base realignment (BRAC) commission's recommendations to relocate many Department of Defense offices from leased space to military bases.
Security was one of the reasons the U.S. Army Materiel Command gave when it moved onto Fort Belvoir following the 9/11 attacks, incurring the expense of constructing an entire headquarters campus. That Command is now moving again to Red Stone Arsenal in Alabama under the BRAC proposal.
RENOVATION of the existing Victory Center building on Eisenhower Avenue plus the construction of two new office buildings, which will provide an additional 512,500 square feet of space, and the three garages for 3,000-plus vehicles will occur in three development phases, and take an estimated five years to complete, according the developer's site plan and Special Use Permit (SUP) application.
"What we have today is a very large and very ugly building. We have the equivalent of an empty shopping mall," said attorney Jonathan P. Rak, representing the applicant.
"We think we have ended up with a proposal that is a very positive change to this end of Eisenhower Avenue. We have also placed most of the parking at the east end of the project because we are encouraging people to use metro," he explained to the commission. Van Dorn Street Metro Station is within a short walk of the site.
Two contentious elements of the proposal are centered around the six- and seven-story parking garages and the proposed streetscape landscaping. Criticism of the garages focused on both the fact that they were above ground and that they pose an undesirable view from Cameron Station.
As for the landscaping proposals, Planning and Zoning Department staff wanted the entire site to be landscaped with the renovation of the existing building. The developers proposed that it be done over the length of the five-year development period.
Commissioners J. Lawrence Robinson and H. Stewart Dunn both questioned staff's desire for the landscaping schedule. Rak explained that landscaping was a major expense and the developers wished to get tenants into the renovated structure to provide a "cash flow" before landscaping the overall site.
Rak and the developers agreed to a compromise that calls for all landscaping to be completed within 48 months, which coincides with the anticipated completion of Phase II of the project. That phase encompasses the construction of first of the two new office buildings and "the left section of the east garage." Present surface parking will remain during construction and gradually be replaced by the garages.
AESTHETICS OF THE GARAGES was also a concern by both the commissioners and the Cameron Station Civic Association. "We want these garages to look more like buildings rather than parking garages," said Joe Bennett, speaking for the association.
In a letter to the commission, the association expressed their overall support of the Victory Center plan but stated, "The applicant has shared illustrations with us that suggest that over time new plantings on the north side of the building (Cameron Station side) and along Cameron Station linear park will grow sufficiently to block the views of much of the parking structures from us. However, it doesn't block all, and it will take years for the planting to mature."
Commission Vice Chairman John Komoroske suggested that plantings, similar to those used on the parking garages at Reagan National Airport, be used to make the structures more visually appealing.
Commissioner Donna Fossum asked, "How far can you go to pretty up these garages?"
Building the garages above ground to satisfy Federal Government security concerns caused Dunn to speculate, "Maybe it's not such a good idea for cities to rely on Department of Defense requirements for development. How are we going to justify requiring other developers to put in underground parking?" Staff answered that this case was based solely on Federal Government security requirements for leased space.
Chairman Eric Wagner said, "Some of us who served on the city's BRAC committee agreed with you (Dunn) that maybe we should let the Department of Homeland Security design cities if we are going to bow to Department of Defense requirements on everything."
Rak pointed out that P&Z staff had also requested that parking at the site be made available to the proposed All City Sports Facility on evenings and weekends when requested. "This would be considered based on the security requirement of future tenants," he said.
IN ADDITION to the more than one million square feet of office space and three garages, the completed site will include ground-level open space and open space connections, shuttle service to the Van Dorn Metro Station, courtyards at entrances, a potential future park to the north, two rows of ornamental trees, a 10 foot wide sidewalk, two bus shelters, benches and pedestrian scale lighting.
It was unanimously recommended for approval.
When it came to the Commerce Bank proposal, discussions focused on both the design and materials of the building itself and the creation of multiple curb cuts to allow access to the bank and its proposed four-lane drive-through facility. Design elements were challenged in light of the vision for the Van Dorn/Landmark Area Plan.
"We are looking to have the design be more in line with an urban landscape than a suburban one. However, the applicant is not in favor with these suggestions," Eileen Fogarty, director, Department of Planning and Zoning, told the commission.
"This (design) does not fit with what the city should be aiming for. This area is going to undergo significant changes and they (the developers) are still thinking of it as a strip mall area. It should reflect the future vision for this area of the City," said Poul Hertel, speaking against the design put forth by Commerce Bank/Pennsylvania, N.A., the developer.
Attorney M. Catherine Puskar, representing the applicant, stated, "This corner seems to need an anchor and this design accomplishes that. We are also including the streetscape suggested in the Van Dorn/Landmark Area plan."
The existing curb cut for the restaurant, at the intersection of South Van Dorn and South Picket streets, will be moved north near the property line with Red Lobster Restaurant. A second curb cut will be added to the existing one on S. Pickett Street to accommodate customers utilizing the four lane drive-through facility.
OVERALL THE PROPOSAL calls for the construction of a 5,086-square-feet one-story building with a separate drive-through facility and parking to accommodate 32 vehicles. The design encompasses two pedestrian entrances, one facing Van Dorn street and a second with two ATM machines on the north side of the structure.
Although the proposed bank is a permitted use under the Commercial General zoning category of the site, the project requires the approval of an SUP due to the planned drive-through facility, according to the staff report. Owners of the Four Season Diner will maintain ownership of the property with Commerce Bank taking a ground lease, according to Villars.
Prior to the commission giving their unanimous approval, Bennett, speaking for himself and not the association, summed up the reaction of most of those present, stating, "I think I can say for most people in the community we'd rather see the Four Seasons stay. But, in the meetings I attended the reaction to the bank's proposal was very favorable."