To the Editor:
Appearing before the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) of the Old and Historic District is sometimes a frustrating experience. If you are a citizen presenter you have the feeling that no one is really listening to you. I experienced that frustrating feeling at the BAR’s meeting on July 16 when the new Northern Robinson Terminal development was discussed during its work session.
This new development is just across the street from the boundary of the Old and Historic District, therefore the BAR does not have oversight authority. However, they were asked to address the development strictly in an advisory role because of its proximity to the Old and Historic District. In a nutshell, “City Interests,” the lead builder in this case, presented a large scale development that had no historic representation south or west of Union Street, which is absolutely contra to the guidelines of the Small Area Plan and the Potomac River Vicinity Height District. It totally lacks a sense of place in Alexandria, as it is ultra-modern and something you would expect to see on the beaches of Miami or in Singapore. More importantly the new buildings do not relate to anything on our historic waterfront. The city calling this an “iconic development” doesn’t make any sense either as that term is really nothing more than a synonym for contemporary or ultra-modern.
The building on the west side of Union Street building is 14 feet over the zoned height of 66 feet, making this building a monstrous 80-foot tower lurking over every other building in this part of Old Town. It will house a hotel and condos. In addition, the west building does not follow a Cartesian street grid as laid out by our founders in 1749 which is totally unacceptable. The larger of the two buildings on the east side of Union Street is 45 feet in height, 15 feet over the zoned height of 30 feet. All of these unapproved heights need to be reduced to the mandated zoning heights.
Glass, glass, glass that is what these buildings are all about. Tourists coming down the river looking at all this crystal would never guess that this is the home of one of the most historic districts in the U.S. As a side note. environmentally glass is a big step backwards because it is energy inefficient. Someone needs to sprinkle some “historic preservation holy water” on this entire project to get it right. My direct ancestor George Mason, one of the original trustees (council members today) of this city along with George Washington, Lord Fairfax and John Carlyle and several others are all rolling over in their graves at this outlandish submission. This is like Urban Renewal all over again ….
The BAR should have jumped all over this submission like a preying mantis. In all fairness they got it half right when they criticized the east building on the waterfront, however they liked the west building (hotel plus condos) with all its glass windows. The design guidelines of the Waterfront Plan are very specific. “Encourage modern design inspired by historic precedent (such as 18th century Alexandria warehouse architecture) while maintaining compatibility with nearby residential neighborhoods and ensuring compliance with the Potomac River Vicinity Height District regulations. Reflect historic east-west orientation of buildings, alleys and wharves.”
What we have now is most likely a development submission that will become the anchor for future discussions wherein only the peripherals of the project will be discussed. Unfortunately, the real shortcomings will probably never be addressed. This is not the way good government should operate.
Townsend A. “Van” Van Fleet
Alexandria