From Building Out Its Tech Hub To Welcoming Downtown D.C. Businesses, Alexandria Is On The Rise

1. D.C.'s Douglas Development Corp. has purchased an office building in Old Town Alexandria for $12M. The four-story building at 515 King St. is set to undergo significant renovations, including to the office suites, lobby and ground-floor retail spaces. The development firm, led by the Jemal family, specializes in adaptive reuse projects — it redeveloped the old Uline Arena in NoMa into a flagship REI.

2. In response to the growing demand for housing in the greater D.C. area, officials in Arlington and Alexandria are taking a hard look at single-family zoning. A member of Yes In My Backyard of Northern Virginia wrote an article in May for Greater Greater Washington explaining why the group supports this decision. 

3. In March, California-based Passco Cos. sold a multifamily property in the Fairfax County section of Alexandria to Brookfield. The Parker at Huntington, located at 2550 Huntington Ave., sold for $136M. The 360-unit, two-building property is 96% leased, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from Brookfield released in May. 

4. An employee of a family-owned commercial real estate landlord has been issued a 19-count indictment in what prosecutors have called one of the largest embezzlement cases in the history of Fairfax County. The indictment alleges that between June 2017 and December 2020, Carlos Camacho fraudulently took out loans on five commercial properties owned by A&A Investments and diverted their incomes to himself. Four of the properties have Alexandria addresses. 

5. The pandemic drastically impacted businesses in Downtown D.C., forcing several to close their doors. Now, some small businesses are choosing to reopen shops in more suburban areas, including Alexandria. The businesses are chasing their customers, many of whom left the District in search of extra space in the subrubs.

6. Development and investment firm Monday Properties has completed construction on a 300-unit Class-A multifamily community in Alexandria. Dubbed The Blake, the building is located at 2000 North Beauregard St. in a designated opportunity zone and will feature one- and two-bedroom residential homes. 

7. As many American companies move to a hybrid or even remote work model, developers have been moving to convert offices into multifamily properties. One such property is the two-tower Park Center in Alexandria, which has been transformed into an upscale apartment complex with 435 residential units.