Happy New Year to all. We are certainly in the grasp of winter now.
Our monthly SHA meeting will be held virtually on Thursday, January 13th at 7:00 p.m. Our speaker will be Hillary Orr, Deputy Director of Transportation. She will provide an update on the pilot project to change the timing of traffic signals on Duke Street to reduce the gridlock at the Telegraph Road interchange. Other topics will be covered during our meeting and you can find the Agenda on the Agenda tab of this website. Here is the link for the Zoom meeting:
Topic: Seminary Hill Association Zoom Meeting
Time: Jan 13, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89602194173?pwd=L01NOXRBSGtjWG9Qano0NGhHUUZnUT09
Meeting ID: 896 0219 4173
Passcode: 370855
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+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
I want to draw your attention to an online community meeting about Fort Ward Park on January 24th from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. The community will be asked to provide input on recommendations on the Ft. Ward Park and Museum Area Management Plan and the Ft. Ward Interpretative Plan. The staff will give a presentation about historic resources, upcoming projects, and archaeology. One of these projects is the relocation of the playground. As you might remember, SHA has urged the city to work with the families of the descendants of those who lived on the land, and take scientific measures to make certain no gravesites are on the proposed playground site. We will find out at this meeting what the city’s plans are. I encourage you to join this meeting if you can. The link to register for this meeting can be found at: https://apps.alexandriava.gov/Calendar/Detail.aspx?si=38495.
On December 18th, 2021, City Council approved the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation’s development plans for the site on Seminary Road adjacent to the fire station. 31 affordable for-sale townhomes will be built, along with a multifamily building with 5 for sale affordable condos, and condo units to be owned by Sheltered Homes of Alexandria to provide housing for intellectually disabled adults. SHA worked closely with AHDC and adjacent neighbors to ensure that this project will fit into the character of the neighborhood.
The City Council will be taking up several projects of interest to our neighborhoods in their upcoming meetings. Among those coming up are the High School Project at Minnie Howard, and the Parc View II massive redevelopment on Holmes Run Parkway which will build a new apartment building in the current parking lot of the existing building and create a 127% increase in the number of units there. Among the items to be considered for the High School project is an increase in the height of the lights for the sports field from the originally-proposed 60 feet to 77 feet. Those of us familiar with the stadium lights at the former TCW knew that the 60-foot lights would never be realistic at Minnie Howard. Apparently, the engineers have now come to the same conclusion. We will continue to follow these and other issues in the coming year.
At the the installation ceremony for the new City Council earlier this month, Mayor Wilson stated that previously he wanted Alexandria to be “a small city that does big things.” But now he indicated that he sees Alexandria as a city “that does less things, but does them better.” He stated that our basic services are strained and now Council must come to a “reconciliation of the role the City has.” We will be closely monitoring what these statements mean for all of us.
As always, thank you for your interest in Seminary Hill. Do not hesitate to contact us with any issues or concerns you have.
Carter Flemming, President, Seminary Hill Association, Inc.
