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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Virginia Court of Appeals has upheld Alexandria's approval of the Ladrey redevelopment, ruling that the city complied with zoning ordinances and due process when it signed off on the project.
In an opinion issued July 7, the court said the city council's January 2024 approval of the land-use applications was "fairly debatable," the standard Virginia courts apply when reviewing legislative zoning decisions. The three-judge panel also rejected arguments that the city improperly affected existing easements tied to the property.
The case was brought by Pendleton House Limited Dividend Housing Associates LP, which challenged the city's approval of the project on a two-acre waterfront block near Old Town. The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which owns the block, partnered with developer Ladrey Developer LLC on the redevelopment. The project involves the Ladrey building and the Rose House and required rezoning, a master plan amendment, and a development special use permit. The original plan called for demolishing the aging Ladrey building and replacing it with a new 270-unit affordable housing development for elderly or disabled residents.
Pendleton opposed the redevelopment because it said the project would negatively affect easements benefiting the Rose House, which Pendleton owns and operates on land it leases from the Authority. Specifically, Pendleton argued the new permit vacated an emergency vehicle access easement and an ingress-egress easement tied to earlier city permits dating to the 1970s and 1980s.
The court rejected those arguments. The Alexandria Planning Commission unanimously approved the master plan amendment on Jan. 4, 2024, and the city council unanimously approved the remaining applications on Jan. 20, 2024, following public hearings at which Pendleton's counsel participated and specifically referenced the earlier permits. The court said Pendleton therefore had notice and an opportunity to be heard, satisfying due process. It also held that the city council could be presumed to know applicable law, and that the new special use permit effectively amended the earlier ones.
The Ladrey project has evolved considerably since the 2024 approvals at the center of the lawsuit. In April 2026, the Alexandria Brief reported that the city council unanimously authorized ARHA to issue up to $20 million in revenue bonds to finance the rehabilitation of the 11-story building at 300 Wythe St., preserving 159 deeply affordable apartments for senior and disabled households. All current residents were relocated by January 2026 and have a guaranteed right to return. Construction is expected to begin in January 2027, with completion projected for the third quarter of 2028. The borrower is Ladrey Rehab LLC, affiliated with WinnCompanies.
The court's ruling removes a layer of legal uncertainty from the underlying land-use approvals that have guided the project's evolution.
Ryan Belmore
