Multifamily Units On King Street Approved, Polk Avenue Decision Upheld

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria City Council made several notable decisions at its Saturday meeting, including an approval of multifamily residential units on King Street and denial of an appeal to remove nine parking spaces on Polk Avenue.

The multifamily approval at 615 to 621 King Street calls for a four-story building with 24 multifamily residential units and ground-floor retail. The buildings are unused spaces that formerly hosted Walgreens and Burke & Herbert Bank, respectively, on the street level. The 619 King Street space above the former Walgreens continues to be occupied by Georgie's Pilates Loft. According to a city staff report, the project would renovate the two historic buildings into one mixed-use building.

The project, called The Mansly, will be named after Edith Mansly who inherited 615 King Street in 1970 and passed it on to her daughters. One of her daughters is pursuing the project as part of the Silverman Group.

Cathy Puskar, the land use attorney representing the applicant, said the project would include six studio units, 16 one-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units. The units are targeted toward young professionals and families who work locally or want to be near public transit.

One of the requests for the project is reducing the on-site parking requirement from 25 spaces to none. Puskar noted the residents would not be eligible for residential parking permits in this area of the city. The parking reduction would allow more room for vehicles loading or unloading.

"We have a Metro station within a mile we have free trolley we have free DASH bus, we have a water taxi, we have bike share, we have scooters, we have walkability, and bicycles," said Puskar. "So we pretty much have every mode of transportation near us at this location. And so we do believe that the people who will be choosing to live here will be carless by choice."

City Council approved the project 5-1 with Councilmember Canek Aguirre voicing support against. Aguirre cited a section of city code on development as a reason for his opposition.

Aguirre and a few other councilmembers expressed the need for getting more affordable housing options in the pipeline.

"We know that we have an issue especially around affordability and when we look at well if we're just building more units that are at market rate, is that really bringing down the price for everybody else? Not really, and especially when we know for a fact that the majority of the housing that we need to see built is 50 percent of the area median income and below," said Aguirre. "I believe that we need to be given options and availability across our entire city. And this just doesn't do that for me."

City Council's approval came after the Alexandria Planning Commission voted on Sept. 6 to recommend approval.

Appeal Against Polk Avenue Sidewalk Fails

City Council voted to deny an appeal of the Alexandria Traffic and Parking Board's July 25 decision to remove nine parking spaces along Polk Avenue in the Seminary Hill area. The removal of nine parking spaces between N. Pelham and N. Pegram Streets would make room for a sidewalk on the north side of Polk Avenue. The addition of a sidewalk was recommended as part of a Safe Routes to School Walk audit for Polk Elementary School.

According to the city's project web page, the gap where there is no sidewalk causes people to walk in the street or cross Polk Avenue to continue their route.

"Filling this sidewalk gap would provide a more continuous path for people walking to the park, to Polk Elementary, and to Hammond Middle School," the city's project web page states.

The appeal petition was signed by 155 residents, according to appellant Kathleen Burns. The petition claimed there was no documentation of safety incidents involving pedestrians or vehicles and questioned how the sidewalk addition became a high-need project. The petition stated the nine parking spots in question "are highly used because of the design plan for the surrounding houses and the great competition for parking spaces that exists throughout the neighborhood."

Others spoke in support of and against the traffic and parking board's decision, including Mike Doyle of Alexandria Families For Safe Streets and Laura Rodriguez of the Polk Elementary PTA.

Before City Council's vote, Mayor Justin Wilson voiced support for adding sidewalks where they are missing.

"I believe every street in the city should have a sidewalk on both sides full stop, period. I don't believe that's a debatable question," said Wilson.

The mayor noted when he met with residents on Polk Avenue, he saw "dangerous" conditions.

"We were standing in the middle of the road and cars were coming around that corner quickly," said Wilson. "It was dangerous. I couldn't imagine an elementary school kid being in that situation. So we should have a sidewalk on this side of the road."

The planning and design of the sidewalk is in progress, according to the project web page.