Alexandria Building With Business Tenants Proposed For Redevelopment

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Montgomery Center, a warehouse building now hosting various business tenants, is the center of a redevelopment proposal set for city review in Alexandria's Old Town North neighborhood.

Montgomery Center, located in the block around Montgomery, Madison, N. Royal and N. Fairfax Streets, is proposed to become a mixed-use development with 327 multifamily units, over 25,000 square feet of ground floor retail, over 13,000 square feet for a music performance venue with 600 seats, and 406 underground parking spaces on two levels. Two plazas would also be planned as a gathering space for visitors and outdoor seating for restaurants.

Planned affordable units would total 22. The units would be available to households making 60 percent of the area median income. The developer wants to utilize 30 percent height and density bonuses for introducing an arts and cultural anchor and for affordable housing. A four to eight-story building and increased density of a 2.5 floor area ratio are proposed.

The current one to two-story buildings at Montgomery Center have retail, office, restaurant and personal service business tenants. Historically, Montgomery Center was a warehouse from the 1950s in the industrial area of Old Town North.

But today, Old Town North is seeing significant redevelopment. Blocks away, Hilco Redevelopment Partners is pursuing a redevelopment of the old Potomac River Generating Site on the waterfront.

Carr Companies, the developer proposing the redevelopment of Montgomery Center, has completed other projects in Old Town North, the Venue and the Muse. Another project at 901 N. Pitt Street was approved in 2022 and is expected to start construction. According to a city staff report, the proposed redevelopment was "envisioned" during the Old Town North Small Area Plan planning process.

In a newsletter, the Old Town North Alliance expressed support for replacing the current Montgomery Center.

"Though beloved by many in Old Town North, Montgomery Center is a haphazard collection of warehouse spaces with no on-site parking, large electrical lines around all four sides, and completely impermeable surfaces," the newsletter stated.

The alliance shared that some business tenants have already left, and "remaining tenants will have until at least December, and perhaps longer" to leave. According to the alliance, construction could only begin with a site plan approval, which could take one year.

According to a city staff report, construction would cause a "disturbance" in part of Oronoco Bay Park, where an upgraded sanitary sewer line would be constructed. The area would return to normal conditions when construction is completed.

The proposal goes to the Alexandria Planning Commission on March 30. If approved, City Council's hearing is scheduled for April 15.