The Alexandria City Council and the planning commission have approved a large-scale residential and retail development for a three-acre site that now houses a warehouse in the Braddock Metro station neighborhood.
The 344-unit apartment and retail project, dubbed “The Madison,” waited three years for the city’s blessing, said Jeff Miller, senior vice president of development for Trammell Crow Co., the project’s developer.
The retail space was originally slated to hold a Harris Teeter, but the grocer dropped out because the approval process took too long, Miller said.
The developer is now looking to fill the 23,000 square feet of retail space with a pharmacy, a restaurant and local retailers.
For the past year, the city has been drafting a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the Braddock Metro area, which is expected to be finished this spring.
The Madison won the city’s approval before the plan’s completion because the project preceded it and because the developer proved responsive to the community’s requests, Alexandria officials said.
Trammell Crow modified its original plans to include lawn space between the buildings and the sidewalk at the community’s request, and reduced its parking garage entrance to make room for more street-level retail, Alexandria principal planner Dirk Geratz said.
Despite the 90-foot limit allowed by zoning rules, the developer planned the buildings to be 50 feet high to fit the area’s aesthetic.
“I think the community is really ready to see it happen, partly because the site there is dead at night — there’s nobody there,” Geratz said.
The Madison is planned for 800 North Henry St. The northern half of the project will hold 206 market-rate apartments and a 9,000-square-foot courtyard, which Miller said could include some seating. The southern half of the project will house 138 apartments and an 8,000-square-foot park.
