Commission to Vote on Polk Avenue Open Space, Seminary Chapel

The Alexandria Planning and Zoning Commission will vote Tuesday night on whether to approve the acquisition of open space on Polk Avenue as part of the BRAC negotiations.

The commission will meet Tuesday night at Alexandria City Hall. Local residents will be able to make comments before the commission. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.

In October, the Beauregard Rezoning Advisory Group unanimously chose the 2.4-acre, heavily wooded site at the intersection of Polk Avenue and North Pelham Street to preserve as open space. The Department of Defense has given the city $1.5 million in compensation to establish an open space in the Beauregard corridor as part of the BRAC negotiations.

The advisory group gave the Polk Avenue location the highest rating in an earlier survey. Alexandria City Council must approve the final site location.

The commission will also consider a request for a development special use permit to construct a new Chapel of the Ages at Virginia Theological Seminary, 3737 Seminary Road. In October 2010, the 129-year-old Immanuel Chapel burned in a fire. No one was injured.

The seminary, founded in 1823, is the largest of the 11 accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church. Former president Gerald Ford, once an Alexandria resident, attended services at the chapel and Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary Road.