Old Town's Royal Market Preparing to Abdicate

The days are numbered for the Royal Market, as a plan to raze the Old Town convenience store and an adjacent shuttered laundromat and replace them with a group of residential structures with a similarly regal name has received the go-ahead. 

Alexandria’s Planning Commission approved plans Tuesday for The Middleton, a row of four, three-story townhomes named after the duchess of Cambridge because of its location at the corner of Royal and Princess streets. 

Applicants Scott Mitchell and J. Lawrence Hirsch plan to consolidate the market and the laundromat parcels, then subdivide the new larger parcel into a site plan for four homes. The streetscape will be restored with sidewalks and street trees.

According to the planning staff’s report on the project:

The four townhouses are intentionally designed to appear different from one another, with each the end units having a unique design and the two middle units designed as twins. The houses will vary in height, roof form and window style. Though all four homes will have brick facades they will vary in color from red, tan and a grey color. This variation will make the homes appear as if they were built at different times creating a more organic appearance.

Nearby residents who use an alleyway along the rear of the site to access their garages and homes expressed concerns about its width. The alley is just 10 feet wide, 12 feet smaller than what the city requires. Many antiquated alleyways in Old Town are smaller than the 22-foot standard.

Under the project layout, the alley will remain narrow but be abutted by four parking spots for residents of The Middleton.

“I’m not understanding within the constraints of that alley how people get in and out of their spaces,” Commissioner Eric Wagner said. “I think for any of them they have to be Houdini.”

Commissioners gave the applicants a 5 percent reduction on an open space requirement that will be used toward alleviating the alleyway issues. City staff will work toward a solution with the applicants and nearby residents.