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Planning Commission recommends rezoning and DSUP for 145‑unit all‑affordable Old Town West building
Summary
The commission recommended rezoning Block 3 at 598 South Alfred Street to RMF and approved a DSUP for a 145‑unit all‑affordable building that includes a relocation plan for 34 tenants, streetscape and park improvements, and a 39% reduction in phosphorus runoff per staff analysis.
The Alexandria Planning Commission on Dec. 2 recommended that City Council approve a rezoning and a development special‑use permit to allow a 145‑unit all‑affordable residential building at 598 South Alfred Street in Old Town West.
Department staff said the project implements the South Patrick Street small‑area plan and includes a one‑for‑one relocation plan for 34 eligible tenants, streetscape investments, in‑kind improvements to Wilkes Street Park and environmental measures that staff estimated would reduce phosphorus runoff by roughly 39% compared with current site conditions.
Daniel Wells, the city planner presenting the project, said the structure is four stories with a central courtyard and would include underground parking and streetscape enhancements; staff recommended approval based on consistency with the small‑area plan and the project’s public benefits.
Mary Catherine Gibbs, representing Alfred Street Baptist Church and Community Builders, said the applicant has coordinated tenant outreach and that each existing resident would have the right to return to a unit of the same size under the relocation plan.
Neighbors voiced concerns about construction timing, traffic and the preponderance of one‑bedroom units; one resident urged the commission to “pause” until impacts from adjacent redevelopment (a larger Heritage project) become clearer. Commissioners pressed the applicant and staff on vehicle and school‑capacity impacts; staff said the project would generate an estimated 87 new students distributed across Lyles Crouch Elementary, George Washington Middle School and Alexandria City High School.
The commission voted unanimously to recommend both the rezoning and the DSUP with the modifications in the staff memo; both recommendations will be forwarded to City Council for final action.
Next steps The record and staff conditions will be transmitted to City Council; staff will finalize a memorandum of understanding on park phasing and record any required relocation and redevelopment conditions in the DSUP documents.
