The last moves of Alexandria’s City Council and staff have been announced, as the years-long renovation project at City Hall and Market Square is just around the corner.
The various arms of the city government will be operating from swing spaces until 2028, when the project is expected to be completed. With more than 300 city staffers already moved to temporary offices, the project will start construction this spring, according to the city.
Ross Dress For Less is closing next month in Old Town.
The department store at 112 N. Washington Street will close forever on Friday, Jan. 16, according to a sign posted on the retailer’s door. After closing, the building will be renovated and turned into a new “upper school” for the private Linder Academy, which first opened in Old Town in 2021.
Alexandria is calling on artists, makers and small businesses to apply for vendor spots at PatCon 2026, the city’s grassroots anime festival.
Vendor registration is open now through Jan. 23 for the festival, which is happening from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Patrick Henry Recreation Center at 4653 Taney Avenue. The annual celebration is hosted by the recreation center’s Anime Society and is free to attend.
Finn & Fire, a new international restaurant specializing in seafood and steaks, hopes to debut in Old Town in late winter.
The new eatery is preparing to replace Indian restaurant Kismet at 111 N. Pitt Street sometime in March, owner Ghazal Amir told ALXnow. The business previously hoped for a January opening but is still securing its permits.
Every January, people set health goals without the one piece of information that actually drives progress: a true starting point. A DEXA scan changes that. It goes far beyond the scale to give you a precise, objective breakdown of your body fat, muscle mass, visceral fat, and bone density in a quick twelve-minute appointment. No guesswork. No assumptions. Just real data.
For years, Alexandria residents have had only one option, traveling into Arlington or DC and paying $120 to $150 for access to this level of testing. Scheduling was limited. Convenience was nonexistent. This year, that changes. By coordinating a high-demand day with the regional provider, our team secured a preferred local rate and brought this technology directly into the city. That means Alexandria finally has access to gold-standard body composition testing without leaving Alexandria.
Change is coming to the Alexandria Democratic Committee.
Jon DeNunzio, a former editor at The Washington Post and owner of a digital marketing firm, is running unopposed for ADC chair. Over the past nine years, he has held a number of ADC leadership positions, including corralling door-knockers for the Democrats to Go initiative, as well as coordinating volunteers and precinct operations in the West End.
Gretchen Bulova, director of the Office of Historic Alexandria, won a decisive victory last night (Tuesday) in a firehouse Democratic primary for delegate of the 11th District.
Alexandria’s OHA director is now one step closer to fulfilling the delegate seat of her husband, David Bulova, who resigned last Friday after accepting an appointment in Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger’s administration. He spent 19 years in the House of Delegates.
Residents have until Sunday, Jan. 4 to submit comments on two of Alexandria’s draft recommendations aimed at updating the city’s Housing Master Plan.
Specifically, Alexandria is seeking feedback on drafts of the Affordable Housing Preservation and Common Interest Communities projects as part of Housing 2040. Community feedback will help shape the second drafts of each recommendation, expected to be released in mid-to-late February, according to the city.
On This Day in Alexandria History — “On Dec. 17, 1983, the Braddock Road, King Street and Eisenhower Avenue Metro stations opened on the Yellow Line. Passengers traveling from the new stations received free one-way trips for part of the day. At the King Street station, opening festivities included bagpipe music and ribbon cutting by Senators Chuck Robb and John Warner.” [Historic Alexandria]
Capitol Statue Unveiled For VA Civil Rights Leader — “In 1951, a Black teenager led a walkout of her segregated Virginia high school. On Tuesday, her statue replaced that of a Confederate general in the U.S. Capitol. Barbara Rose Johns was 16 when she mobilized hundreds of students to walk out of Farmville’s Robert Russa Moton High School to protest its overcrowded conditions and inferior facilities compared to those of the town’s white high school … Johns’ bronze statue is the latest addition to Emancipation Hall, a gathering place in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center that houses many of the 100 statues representing each state.” [NPR]
Good Tuesday evening, Alexandria. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Dec 16, 2025.
Here are today’s most-read articles:
Here is what’s going on Wednesday in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
Expect mostly sunny conditions today, as the temperature reaches a high near 49 degrees. The southwest wind of about 7 mph will shift west in the afternoon. For Wednesday night, the sky will be partly cloudy, with the temperature dropping to around 30 degrees, accompanied by a light and variable wind. See more from Weather.gov.
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
– Confucius
Thanks for reading!
