Please join us for the Old Town North Alliance Annual Meeting on Tuesday, December 16th. Whether you are an OTNA Member or you are interested in learning more about OTNA, all are welcome to attend.

City Manager Jim Parajon will be a guest speaker and we will provide an overview of OTNA Activity in 2025 and identify OTNA Priorities for 2026.

Thank you to Hotel AKA Alexandria for generously offering to host us for this event.

Please register at the link below so we know how many people to expect. Looking forward to seeing you there!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/old-town-north-alliance-annual-meeting-tickets-1975297585251?aff=oddtdtcreator

UDAC Walking Tour of Old Town North

On Wednesday, November 12th, a large crowd gathered in front of St. Elmo’s for the Annual UDAC Walking Tour of Old Town North. The tour was led by representatives from Planning & Zoning (Daniel Welles, Michael Swidrak, Catherine Miliaras) and the Office of the Arts (Diane Ruggiero). Members of the Urban Design Advisory Committee (UDAC) were also in attendance. UDAC Members include: Abbey Oklak, Thomas Soapes, Meg Leahy, Suzanne Oetgen, and Zaira Suarez.

Updates on many of the sites on the tour were also covered in the Old Town North Alliance Online Forum held on November 13th.

New Arts Tenant Space: 532 Yoga/NCO Creative

The tour started with a visit to the new Arts Tenant space at 500 Montgomery St., where 532 Yoga and NCO Creative are partnering on a combined yoga studio/art gallery. Natalie O’Connor, the art curator for the space, explained that the gallery plans to showcase artists from lesser-developed regions. The current exhibit, Living Traces, features contemporary Cuban art and will be on display through January 2026.

Stop by on Tuesdays for Tuesday Gallery Nights from 6:30pm - 9:30pm or on weekends from 1:30pm - 4:00pm. To learn more about this new partnership and future events, you can follow along on Instagram (@532yoga).

UDAC Tour attendees visit the new 532 Yoga/NCO Creative space at 500 Montgomery St. (image courtesy of Old Town North Alliance)

Montgomery Center

After splitting up into three smaller groups, the tour continued with a stop in Montgomery Park. Meg Leahy of Carr America (also a UDAC Member), spoke about the plans for Montgomery Center and the emphasis on maintaining a connection between Montgomery Park and Alexandria House Park by offering public access routes through the project. The project will feature 327 rental units, a 13,000 sq. ft. Arts Anchor space, and lots of ground floor retail. Financing for the project is still being worked out, but the expected timeline is for work to begin in early 2026.

425 Montgomery St.

The 425 Montgomery project is being developed by Carr Properties and will also be mixed-use, featuring 237 rental units, two restaurants (For Five Coffee and Grazie Nonna), and an Arts Anchor space (CityDance). The building will be set back on the Montgomery St. side to align with the wider sidewalks at Gables, allowing for outdoor dining and more space for pedestrians. There will be a small park on the back side of the units (opposite side from Montgomery St.) that will be open to the public. The project is expected to be completed in late winter 2026/early 2027.

The Art League - Muse Studios

At Muse, Wynn Hunsaker (AEDP) and Suzanne Bethel (The Art League), both spoke about the process by which the Art League was able to occupy the spaces at Muse and Slaters Annex with the help of a financing arrangement made possible by the City, AEDP, and the Industrial Development Authority (IDA). Attendees also had the opportunity to observe a stained glass class in one of the Muse studios.

*A stained glass class in the Muse Studios (image courtesy of Old Town North Alliance)*

Linear Park

As the tour continued along the Mount Vernon Trail, Catherine Milaras addressed the crowd about the Linear Park envisioned in the Old Town North Small Area Plan. The City is working on a rails to trails conversion from Pendleton St. across the Parkway and is in the process of getting an appraisal. Each development project makes a contribution to the Linear Park and the City has collected $2.9M in contributions from developers to date. Miliaras said she expects to have approximately $4.5M once TideLock and 425 Montgomery St. are completed.

TideLock

This project, which includes condos, rentals, a 5,000 sq. ft. Arts Anchor space and 2,000 sq. ft. of retail space (likely to be a café), will be delivered in April 2026. The Arts Anchor is still TBD, but there is a pending proposal before Planning & Zoning for an Italian car museum and TideLock developers are simultaneously pursuing a second option.

Venue

The tour stopped next at Venue, which will be the home of the new MetroStage theater. MetroStage is actively working with Winstanley Architects, Quattro Construction, and other specialized contractors and is targeting completion in fall 2026.

Ladrey Apartments

A redevelopment of this ARHA property, comprising all affordable units for senior or disabled residents, is planned and will include both interior and exterior improvements. During the redevelopment, current Ladrey tenants will be relocated to other locations, including a building purchased by ARHA on N. Fayette St.

Pendleton St. Promenade/Robinson Terminal North

The tour concluded with a visit to the newly completed Pendleton St. Promenade, where plans for the Robinson Terminal North project were discussed. The project will include two buildings (east and west of Union St.) with a total of 73 condo units and 3 restaurants. The east side of the project will include a large open space area that will connect with the Pendleton St. promenade. The City will take ownership of some of the space along the water. Construction is expected to begin with the west building, but no timeline was provided.

The City is planning for activation of the Pendleton St. Promenade, but details have not yet been determined.

Register Now for OTNA Annual Meeting on December 16th; Recap of UDAC Walking Tour

Old Town North Alliance Annual Meeting

Tuesday, December 16th, 6:30pm - 8pm

Hotel AKA Alexandria (625 First St.)