A rendering from architect Hord Coplan Macht of a new apartment building in Old Town taking place of the vacant WMATA garage.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) “bus barn” will be demolished in early 2020 to make room for a large new residential development.
The WMATA maintenance garage at 600 N. Royal St. has been vacant for several years.
Trammel Crow Residential acquired the nearly 50,000 square foot garage for about $26 million, the company announced earlier this year.
In place of the garage, Trammel Crow Residential will be developing The Alexan, a multi-family apartment building with below-ground parking. There are plans for 286 apartments in the building with a mix of studio, one- and two bedroom units.
The project should be completed by the middle of 2022, according to the developer.
Hord Coplan Macht is the project architect and Parker Rodriguez Inc. is the landscape architect.
This change from commercial to residential has historic precedent: In the early 1900s, there were several rowhomes along the North Pitt Street side of the block and along Pendleton Street, according to the City of Alexandria. The existing garage was built in the 1940s.
The 2-acre site was slated for future sale in 2013 by WMATA, which built a replacement garage in Fairfax County.
