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ALEXANDRIA, VA — Residential parking district fees and residents' contributions to stormwater capacity projects could get more expensive if approved by Alexandria City Council.

City Council's upcoming meeting on April 8 will include proposals for fee increases in addition to a public hearing on the real estate and personal property tax rates. All of the items are associated with the annual budget, which City Council will give final approval to on April 30.

Here's a recap of the key tax and fee decisions coming up.

Tax Rates

As part of the annual budget process, City Council sets real estate and personal property tax rates. City Manager James Parajon's proposed budget would keep the real estate tax rate of $1.135 per $100 of assessed value. Even with a flat tax rate, property owners who saw their assessment values increase should expect a higher tax bill. The city estimates average residential real estate tax bill would increase from $7,931 to $8,285 annually. City Council ruled out a higher rate by setting $1.135 as the advertised real estate tax rate.

Under the budget proposal, the personal property tax on vehicles would remain the same at $5.33 per $100 of assessed value. For vehicles designed for people with disabilities, the rate would remain $3.55 per $100 of assessed value. The proposed personal property tax on business items is $4.75 for tangible personal property and $4.50 for machinery and tools.

Final rates will be adopted with the budget on April 30. The public will be able to provide feedback on tax rates during the April 8 public hearing. Public hearings are required under Virginia law if the proposed tax rate results in a tax bill increase above 1 percent from the previous year.

Stormwater Utility Fee

The stormwater utility fee, which provides dedicated funding for stormwater quality and capacity projects, has been on the rise in Alexandria. This year, the stormwater utility fee is proposed to increase from $324.10 to $340.30 per billing unit. The billing unit is based on a typical single-family home, but fees will be less for condo and townhouse types and more for larger single-family homes. A public hearing on the stormwater utility fee increase will be held on April 22, and final adoption would come with the budget approval on April 30.

When City Council first adopted the stormwater utility fee in 2017, the fee totaled $140 per billing unit. Then, the fee doubled in two phases within a year — $140 to $210 in June 2021 and $210 to $280 in November 2021. Since then, fee increases have continued to be adopted with annual budgets.

To provide context, a larger portion of funds went to stormwater quality initiatives to meet state and federal mandates than stormwater capacity initiatives. But when the city experienced multiple severe flash flooding events tied to insufficient stormwater capacity, a task force was created and recommended fee increases to accelerate stormwater capacity projects and maintenance.

According to a city staff memo, the fee increase alone would generate an additional $1.1 million. Altogether, the fee generates $20.8 million for storm sewer large capacity projects, spot improvement projects, stream and channel maintenance, and storm sewer maintenance projects.

Residential Parking Fees

Residents parking their cars in the city's residential parking permit districts could see costs increase. The city is proposing to increase the fee from $40 to $55 for the first vehicle, $50 to $75 for the second vehicle, and $150 to $250 for the third and any additional vehicles. The fee was last increased in 2018. The city said the proposed fees are still below the estimated $100 to $250 monthly costs to park in garages.

For context, the fee is separate from the vehicle personal property tax and doesn't get charged to all city residents. The residential permit parking program applies to residents who park their cars on the street within parking districts with high parking demand. That includes areas like Old Town and residential areas near Metro stations. Vehicles parked in these districts are subject to two-hour and three-hour time limits, but those with the residential permit are exempt from that time limit. However, the city code rule that vehicles cannot be parked in the same on-street space for 72 continuous hours still applies.

According to city data, 5,000 Alexandria households received permits for one vehicle in 2024, 1,700 households received two permits, and 350 households received three or more permits. If the same number of households receive permits, the city estimated increases would generate an additional $200,000 in revenue annually.

The Alexandria Traffic and Parking Board unanimously recommended the parking fee increases. A public hearing will be held April 22, and final action would come with the final budget on April 30.

Highlighting a partnership that spans continents and connects namesake cities, the president of Egypt’s Alexandria University (AU) visited Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus and attended the grand opening of Academic Building One in Alexandria, Virginia.

During the visit, the two universities formalized a long-standing relationship by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that aims to encourage student mobility and joint research initiatives between the two Alexandrias.

“We are very excited to advance the next phase of our collaboration,” said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands after meeting with AU President Abdelaziz Konsowa. “Alexandria University is a valued partner, and an important part of our growing education and innovation network.”

The memorandum of understanding envisions a dual-degree pathway structured as a 4+1 program. This framework will enable Egyptian students to earn their bachelor’s degrees at Alexandria University before pursuing a Master of Engineering in computer science or computer engineering at Virginia Tech’s new facility in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area. The agreement also paves the way for collaborative community projects between Alexandria, Egypt, and Alexandria, Virginia.

Among the longer-term goals is Virginia Tech’s involvement in AU’s recently announced corporate research center and technology park. The Egyptian facility, designed to foster research providing practical industry solutions and encourage student entrepreneurship, is poised to be a complementary partner to Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus and VT India initiatives.

The Center for International Research, Education, and Development (CIRED), part of Outreach and International Affairs, has been instrumental in fostering this partnership.

“We have worked with colleagues in Egypt for many years,” center Executive Director Tom Archibald said. “Building on the long-standing relationship that CIRED already has with Alexandria University, President Sands signing this MOU signifies that Virginia Tech is poised to accelerate this relationship to be more formal and active. Now, CIRED’s role will be to help operationalize this MOU.”

Beyond initiating and developing the relationship between the universities, the center will manage and implement projects emerging from this newly formalized partnership.

During his visit to Blacksburg, Konsowa met with Sands, Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke, Vice President Guru Ghosh, and other key faculty members in engineering, agriculture, and health sciences. He toured various facilities, including the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science lab, the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. Konsowa then traveled to Alexandria, Virginia, to witness the grand opening of Academic Building One.

In Northern Virginia, Konsowa met with Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins. During her public remarks at the grand opening, Gaskins highlighted potential partnerships between the two Alexandrias.

“We started talking about our shared challenges. … As we talked, we didn’t just share our challenges, we started to share ideas,” Gaskins said.

As the dual-degree pathway begins to take shape, students from Alexandria, Egypt, will begin arriving in Alexandria, Virginia, to complete their graduate programs, strengthening connections between the two cities.

“Dr. Konsowa’s visit represents a significant milestone in our international collaboration efforts,” said Ghosh, vice president for outreach and international affairs. “The deliberations between Virginia Tech’s faculty, leadership and between Mayor Gaskins and Dr. Konsowa revealed numerous areas for potential cooperation. Within just days of formalizing our partnership, we identified several promising initiatives that align with both institutions’ strengths. This agreement establishes a foundation for sustained collaboration where faculty expertise, industry partnerships, and student research will address shared challenges in Egypt and the United States through evidence-based solutions.”

Have you ever heard of a goosepig?

In today’s episode of “Matt About Town,” WTOP’s Matt Kaufax heads to Old Town Alexandria to learn more about one of the D.C. region’s most peculiar urban legends.

It’s something Matt found out about after doing a story on the City of Alexandria’s new “sign finder,” a digital locator tool that gives you access to nearly 200 of the city’s historical markers at your fingertips.

When Matt went looking through the sign finder, he stumbled upon a marker in Old Town North, on N. Pitt Street near First and Montgomery: A sign commemorating the story of this oddly proportioned hybrid creature, which first popped up in Alexandria around the early 1800s.

Come along with Matt, and an Alexandria historian you’ve come to know through his show, to learn more about this tall tale!

You can see the “Goosepig” marker for yourself by visiting historic Old Town Alexandria, or you can view a PDF of the marker using the Sign Finder tool on the city’s website.

Hear “Matt About Town” first every Tuesday and Thursday on 103.5 FM!

If you have a story idea you’d like Matt to cover, email him, or chat with him on Instagram and TikTok.

Check out all “Matt About Town” episodes here!

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If there's an off-the-beaten-path type of attraction, person, or phenomenon in the DC area that you think more people should know about, Matt is your guy. As the features reporter for WTOP, he's always on the hunt for stories that provide a unique local flavor—a slice of life if you will.

A Washington, D.C.-area developer wants to build an apartment tower in Alexandria, Va., that could ultimately become the city’s tallest residential building.

Red Fox Development filed plans with the city to construct a building at 2425 Mill Road that could host up to 775 apartments and 40,000 square feet of commercial space, according to the Business Journals, which first reported the news. The 31-story project was initially proposed last year, though with eight fewer floors. Architecture firm Cooper Carry is designing the tower.

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Plans call for staggered levels to the tower, one of which would feature 1.5 acres and include amenities like an open lawn, a pool, pickleball court and a dog park, per the Business Journals.

The project is just north of Interstate 495 on roughly 3 acres of undeveloped land near Carlyle Crossing, a sprawling 1.7 million-square-foot development in the works from Stonebridge, and near the Eisenhower Avenue Metro station. Stonebridge acquired the Carlyle Crossing land from the Hoffman family in 2018, with construction beginning on that project the following year.

Red Fox is under contract with the Hoffmans to use the 3-acre parcel for the Mill Road tower, Red Fox President Adam Peters told Commercial Observer, though price and terms of the contract were not immediately clear. Provided the project is approved, Peters said he expects the land purchase and the beginning of project construction to occur at roughly the same time.

Peters said that he hoped the project would bring “a lot of eyeballs” to Alexandria, and that a residential tower of such scale could bring vitality to local businesses. The project could receive approvals from the city by the end of 2025, he added, with construction beginning in late 2026 or early 2027.

Alexandria, and Northern Virginia in general, have become a hotbed of development and investment activity in recent years. Paradigm Development, for example, is currently trying to win entitlements for a 12-story condo building not far from Red Fox’s proposed project. Paradigm had originally intended to use its lot — adjacent to two other residential towers that it built in 2014 and 2022 — for a nine-story hotel development, but switched up its plans last spring.

American Real Estate Partners is meanwhile converting an office building at 1101 King Street in Old Town Alexandria into 200 residential apartments, for which it received a nearly $88 million construction loan in early 2024. That project is expected to open later this year.

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.

Job cuts soared across the government sector in February, with retailers and pharmaceutical companies also cutting positions.

Megan VerHelst, Patch Staff

|Updated Fri, Mar 7, 2025 at 3:27 pm ET

VIRGINIA — Layoffs soared across the United States in February, but the pace was much slower at Virginia-based companies last month amid a mass of federal government job cuts and canceled contracts, along with staff reductions at retailers and other businesses.

Nationwide, job cuts jumped 245 percent last month, according to executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. There were 172,017 layoffs announced in February across all sectors, and Challenger said that 62,242 of these were federal agencies impacted by the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to slash spending.

That is the highest monthly total for layoffs since July 2020, when 262,649 cuts were announced, according to a Challenger Report published on Thursday.

“Private companies announced plans to shed thousands of jobs last month, particularly in retail and technology," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president and workplace expert for the firm. "With the impact of the DOGE actions, as well as canceled government contracts, fear of trade wars and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February."

While Virginia workers were likely included in layoffs at Washington, D.C.-based federal agencies, Commonwealth-based companies laid off 83 workers in February. So far this year, 330 jobs have been cut, according to Challenger's report.

Find out what's happening in Old Town Alexandriafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

While it's unclear how many Virginians have been impacted by DOGE's job cuts, around 300,000 Commonwealth residents work for federal agencies, and federal jobs also support other employment, according to a Virginia Public Media report citing the state Employment Commission. Nearly 50,000 workers live in Fairfax County alone.

If you are a federal worker or contractor and have been affected by the recent workforce reductions, resources are available through Virginia Career Works Northern Region.

Here's a select breakdown of announced job cuts by industry, according to the Challenger report.

Government

Technology

Electronics

Financial

Pharmaceutical

Retail