The Alexandria City Council has approved plans for a 107-room luxury hotel at the upper end of King Street.
The developer DSF Group, submitted plans two years ago for 65 condos on the same property in the 1500 and 1600 blocks of King Street.
That plan has been shelved in favor of the hotel.
The construction design, which included saving a 100-year-old building at 1520 King St., have not changed, but the developer required permission for changes to its use permits.
Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group is the expected operator. Kimpton already has one Alexandria property, The Morrison, a 45-room, four-star hotel on Alfred Street.
The original plans called for renovation of the historic building with a new, 121,670-square-foot condo building wrapped behind it on the block. The new plans, approved by the City Council on Saturday, call for the same building design, with the condos instead being a hotel, spa, 106-seat restaurant and conference center. The historic building will be renovated for use as a 48-seat wine and coffee bar. The new plan also allows for 6,207 square feet of retail space, about double the amount in the original plan.
The plans call for valet parking for the complex in an underground garage off Dechantal Street. Developers originally requested six King Street parking spaces for a valet curbside, but city staff whittled it to the equivalent of three parking spaces.
Concerns from residents and neighboring businesses led the council to require a six-month review of the valet parking situation. The developers are also being required to donate to Alexandria’s affordable housing funds and green space funds.
