Image via Wesley Housing
Parcview II
Most people can agree that Alexandria needs more affordable housing, but one developer's recent attempts to solve the affordable housing crisis has left some local residents concerned.
In a project dubbed Parcview II, developer Wesley Housing plans to build an additional 227 units, a daycare and a two level underground parking lot right next to an existing 14-story, 48-year-old high rise building. The new development would be built on the 3-acre lot where the existing building’s parking lot is located.
The project has many nearby residents afraid for their own safety and that of their neighbors. According to the Holmes Run Civic Association’s website, their primary concern is that the two-year long construction which will involve extensive underground excavation, pile driving, jackhammering and heavy equipment, which could severely compromise the structural stability of existing high rises in the area, all of which are between 35 and 60 years old.
The issue of older buildings becoming destabilized due to nearby construction was highlighted in the tragic and sudden collapse of a highrise condo building in Surfside, Florida, in 2021.
(Article continues below...)
Image by Donna Fossum
Map of Holmes Run with Parcview II in red.
This part of the city is commonly referred to as “Condo Canyon” because of the many high rise condo and apartment buildings there and its location where Holmes Run Stream flows. The buildings are home to 3,180 households and all of the units are considered affordable or workforce housing. The neighborhood is extremely diverse, with many residents from other countries and with different ethnic and racial backgrounds. Many residents in the area are also seniors or have limited mobility. Claridge House, which is located right next to the Parcview site provides 300 units of low-income housing for seniors. Current residents at Parcview will also remain in their building while the new building is constructed.
In addition to the fact that many of the surrounding high rises are old, the ground in the area is marine clay which is notoriously unstable in comparison to other soil types.
James Lewis and Donna Fossum have been instrumental in forming the Holmes Run Civic Association and educating those who live in the area about some of the flaws with the Parcview II project as it is planned.
Lewis is the Vice Chair of the Alexandria Traffic and Parking Board and recently ran for City Council. Fossum, who has a JD and PhD is a decades long resident of the City and the Holmes Run community. She has been heavily involved in local politics and served as the Vice Chair of the Planning Commission.
They both feel that the concerns they have raised to the developers about the safety of the project have been largely dismissed, so the civic association has sought expert opinions to bolster their concerns.
“We have reached out to a few engineering firms and as you can imagine, everyone wants a relatively large check in order to put something on letterhead but just in our initial conversations when we start explaining the situation to engineers, they all keep going ‘oh that’s a bad idea’,” explained Lewis. They were able to obtain a general report from Robson Forensic which explains the dangers that excavation and vibrations from pile driving and other construction activities can have on nearby structures, especially if necessary precautions are not taken.
“There are several ways that harmful vibration levels due to construction activities can cause damage to neighboring properties and structures. The most common include: damage to a structure directly from the energy of the vibration source, resonant structure response (i.e., the natural frequency of the building and soil matches the frequency of the ground movement causing uncontrollable shaking) and/or the densification of soils supporting a building structure resulting in settlement. All of these vibrational effects can result in cosmetic damage and/or irreparable structural damage,” the report reads.
Lewis and Fossum are concerned about the impact Parcview II can pose to some of the City’s most vulnerable residents in a heavily populated area. They have raised over 230 signatures in opposition to the project, the vast majority of which are residents of the West End neighborhood.
In addition to safety, the project poses numerous other issues, like transportation, parking and lack of open space. In order for the new buildings to be constructed, the lot must be rezoned from RC to RMF zone, a decision which is going before the Planning Commission on Feb. 1 and City Council on Feb. 12. To find out more about the project and how to get involved visit the Holmes Run Civic Association website at www.holmesruncivic.org.
