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Alexandria's week centers on City Council, which meets twice — once for legislative action and once for the final scheduled budget work session — as the city's $977 million spending plan enters its closing stages.
Tuesday's legislative meeting begins at 6:15 p.m. at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center and is headlined by the Glebe-Mount Vernon Redevelopment in Arlandria. Council will consider a Housing Opportunities Fund loan of up to $4 million to Housing Alexandria to finance construction of the Naja Apartments — the second and final building in the development at the corner of Mount Vernon Avenue and Glebe Road. A separate item asks Council to approve a Housing Trust Fund grant of up to $400,000 for rental subsidies for eight units. If approved, the $4 million represents the final installment of what will be approximately $79.7 million in total city funding for the project. When complete, the development will deliver 495 affordable units and more than 20,000 square feet of community-serving commercial space, with the first building, the Sansé Apartments, beginning lease-up this spring.
Also Tuesday, Council will consider adopting the Alexandria Age-Friendly Plan for a Livable Community 2026-2029, a strategic roadmap developed by the Commission on Aging covering housing, transportation, health, civic engagement and economic security. Alexandria was the first community in Virginia accepted into the AARP/WHO Network of Age-Friendly Communities, and the plan — developed through public meetings, a 284-response survey and a virtual town hall — is the city's latest installment in that commitment. The city manager will also deliver oral reports on a FIFA update, 2025 crime statistics, a storm after-action report and a waterfront flood mitigation update. Before the regular meeting, Council will sit down with the Alexandria Transit Company for a stockholders meeting at 6 p.m.
Ryan Belmore
Wednesday brings the final scheduled budget work session before the add-delete process begins in earnest. Work Session No. 6, at 7 p.m. at Del Pepper, covers "Accountable, Effective & Well-Managed Government" — a $189.9 million functional area spanning 15 departments, including Information Technology Services, Finance, General Services, Human Resources, and the City Manager's Office. The dominant line item is Non-Departmental at $109.4 million, covering insurance, debt service, reserves, and employee compensation. Smaller but notable offices on the agenda include the Office of the Independent Policing Auditor, the Office of Voter Registration and Elections — carrying added relevance ahead of the April 21 special election to fill the Council seat vacated by R. Kirk McPike — and the Office of Analytics, Innovation and Data. City Manager James Parajon has also indicated an additional presentation will be included, though its subject has not been disclosed. Wednesday is the last stop before Council must notify staff of any planned tax rate changes by April 6 and finalize its add-delete list by April 9.
Ryan Belmore
Also Wednesday, the city is hosting a virtual public meeting on the Beauregard Trail Feasibility Study at 7 p.m., covering options to extend the current trail roughly 1.5 miles north from Fillmore Avenue along North Beauregard Street to the Fairfax County border. Registration is required to attend. And the ACPS Special Education Advisory Committee meets at 7 p.m.
Ryan Belmore
Thursday is the week's busiest night. The ACPS School Board convenes at 6 p.m. at 1340 Braddock Place for its regular monthly meeting, with a full agenda that includes a redistricting implementation update — the most consequential monitoring item for families ahead of the 2026-27 school year. The Redistricting Implementation Team has completed student notifications and data collection and is now focused on personnel alignment, transportation optimization and school-specific orientation programs for students transitioning to new buildings. The board will also review proposed revisions to several policies, including student conduct, licensed staff discipline, and locally awarded verified credits. On the consent calendar is a construction contract phase for the George Mason Elementary School modernization and expansion. The board is expected to convene two closed sessions: one on George Mason construction negotiations and one on active federal litigation — Case 1:26-CV-133 — alongside student safety and scholastic records matters.
Also Thursday at 6 p.m., two virtual infrastructure meetings run simultaneously. The first covers the $2.5 million Eisenhower Avenue Metrorail Station Pedestrian Crossing Improvements Project, where city staff will discuss project scope, construction schedule and potential travel impacts. The project will upgrade crossing infrastructure immediately adjacent to the Metro station, an area that has seen a surge in foot traffic from high-density residential development and workers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, National Science Foundation and WMATA's Virginia facility. Active construction is scheduled to begin this spring and conclude in June 2027. The second covers the $2.16 million Taylor Run Infrastructure Stabilization Project, where staff will present design alternatives including outfall stabilization approaches, a landscape plan and a tree protection strategy ahead of the 60% design phase. Construction is scheduled for October 2026 through December 2027. Public comments on Taylor Run will be accepted through March 30.
Ryan Belmore
Ryan Belmore
Thursday also marks the opening of "Women in Business" at Gadsby's Tavern Museum at 11 a.m., highlighting Hannah Griffith and other female tavern keepers who operated alongside and independently of the museum's namesake, John Gadsby.
On the weekend, Saturday morning brings a macroinvertebrate monitoring event at Holmes Run at 8:30 a.m. — a hands-on stream health assessment open to the community — as well as a specialty tour at Fort Ward Museum on Civil War veteran Lewis Cass White and his efforts to preserve Fort Stevens. Sunday's offering at the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum leans literary: a specialty tour connecting the historic apothecary's herbal medicines to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander novels.
This week's full calendar
Tuesday, March 24
- 6 a.m. — Chinquapin Open
- 6 p.m. — Minnie Howard Open
- 6 p.m. — Alexandria Transit Company stockholders meeting, Del Pepper Community Resource Center
- 6:15 p.m. — City Council legislative meeting, Del Pepper Community Resource Center (also via Zoom; ID: 988 3056 8948, passcode: 702724)
Wednesday, March 25
- 6 a.m. — Chinquapin Open
- 9 a.m. — Walk-in Wednesday police hiring event
- 2 p.m. — Alexandria Community Policy & Management Team regular monthly meeting
- 6 p.m. — Minnie Howard Open
- 6 p.m. — Free tax preparation for eligible Alexandria residents
- 7 p.m. — Budget Work Session No. 6: Accountable, Effective & Well-Managed Government, Del Pepper Community Resource Center, 4850 Mark Center Drive (webcast at alexandriava.gov/Dockets)
- 7 p.m. — Beauregard Trail Feasibility Study virtual community meeting (registration required)
- 7 p.m. — ACPS Special Education Advisory Committee meeting
Thursday, March 26
- 6 a.m. — Chinquapin Open
- 11 a.m. — "Women in Business" exhibit opening, Gadsby's Tavern Museum
- 12 p.m. — Nourishing the Future Generation: Ending Childhood Hunger in Alexandria stakeholder meeting
- 6 p.m. — Minnie Howard Open
- 6 p.m. — ACPS School Board meeting, 1340 Braddock Place (also on cable channel 71 and via Zoom)
- 6 p.m. — Eisenhower Avenue pedestrian crossing virtual pre-construction meeting (registration required)
- 6 p.m. — Taylor Run Infrastructure Stabilization virtual community meeting (comments accepted through March 30)
- 6:30 p.m. — Children, Youth & Families Collaborative Commission executive meeting, virtual
Friday, March 27
- 6 a.m. — Chinquapin Open
- 9 a.m. — Industrial Development Authority regular meeting, 1940 Duke St., Suite 6700
- 7 p.m. — "To Lafayette! A Franco-American Game Night," Gadsby's Tavern Museum Ballroom
Saturday, March 28
- 7 a.m. — Minnie Howard Open
- 8 a.m. — Chinquapin Open
- 8:30 a.m. — Macroinvertebrate monitoring, Holmes Run
- 9 a.m. — Free tax preparation for eligible Alexandria residents
- 9:30 a.m. — Common Interest Communities Training: Leasing a Condo, virtual
- 10 a.m. — Spring Egg Hunt, Mount Vernon
- 10 a.m. — Specialty tour: Fort Ward & Lewis Cass White, Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site
Sunday, March 29
- 7 a.m. — Minnie Howard Open
- 8 a.m. — Chinquapin Open
- 11 a.m. — Specialty tour: Outlandish Apothecary, Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum
Attending any of these meetings? Send us what you hear -> ryan@alexandriabrief.com.
