Arlandria Small Area Plan, Landmark Mall Redevelopment Win Awards

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Two planning initiatives in the City of Alexandria have won planning awards from the American Planning Association's Virginia chapter.

The Arlandria-Chirilagua Small Area Plan won the 2022 Commonwealth Plan of the Year Award, while the Landmark Mall dedevelopment project won the 2022 Red Clay Development of the Year Award.

"We are honored to be recognized by the Virginia APA for our planning efforts," said Karl Moritz, the city's planning and zoning director, in a news release. "Communities across the Commonwealth are engaged in outstanding, groundbreaking planning. I am proud that Alexandria is at the forefront of this work and is contributing to the many examples of planning innovation in Virginia."

In the Arlandria-Chirilagua neighborhood, a planning process was launched in 2019 to address concerns about displacement and declining cultural diversity due to nearby development. Arlandria-Chirilagua is a largely Hispanic and Latino neighborhood with 45 percent of residents earning less than $50,000 per year.

The small area plan for the Arlandria-Chirilagua neighborhood was adopted by Alexandria City Council in December 2021 with guiding principles such as housing for all and mobility and safety. According to the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association, the adopted plan recommends addressing housing affordability needs through building height incentives, developer contributions, public-private partnerships, tenant protections, relocation assistance, and expanded homeownership opportunities. The plan seeks 10 percent of all new development to be designated as affordable units for residents who earn up to 40 or 50 percent of the area median income.

"The Arlandria-Chirilagua Small Area Plan was produced in both Spanish and English, with a unique vision to implement and enhance community, cultural, and economic opportunities that would enable existing residents to stay affordably in their community," the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association said in a news release. "The advocacy, strategy, and implementation recommendations in this plan exemplify and advance the planning process to create great communities for all."

For the Landmark Mall redevelopment, the city's planners were awarded for "an inclusive, visionary planning process." The mall, which closed in 2017, is being demolished and will become a 4-million-square-foot mixed-use community anchored by a new Inova Alexandria Hospital. Along with the hospital, the development is expected to have residential, retail, commercial and entertainment uses as well as central plaza, parks and public spaces, transit hub and Alexandria Fire Department's relocated Fire Station 208.

The city entered a joint agreement with the Inova Health System and developer Foulger-Pratt in 2021. Demolition will be followed by rough grading of the site starting in late 2022 and infrastructure construction estimated to begin in the latter half of 2023. The first buildings are estimated to deliver in 2025.

"The Landmark Mall redevelopment leverages public and private investments to deliver what will be a vibrant mixed-use urban neighborhood and national model for suburban transformation, creative place making, and economic development," said Nick Rogers, vice president of external affairs for American Planning Association Virginia, in a news release. "The proposal advances planning in the Commonwealth by providing a replicable model for suburban mall retrofits."

Planning awards were given at the American Planning Association's Virginia chapter conference Tuesday in Richmond.

See other planning award winners here.