It’s not every day you find a piece of history when building a new hotel, but that’s exactly what happened earlier this month when workers uncovered pieces of an 18th-century Revolutionary War-era cargo ship at the construction site for the new Hotel Indigo in Old Town Alexandria, VA.
A partial hull of the large ship was pulled from the project site at 220 S. Union Street, along the Old Town Alexandria Waterfront on the Potomac River. The remnants are being removed by naval archaeologists and will be preserved for the public to view.
The Wells + Associates Connection to the Project
The Rust-Orling-designed hotel is slated to be built by Carr Hospitality and provide 120 rooms with one level of valet underground parking. A waterfront restaurant with outdoor seating will provide great river views for guests.
Wells + Associates prepared the traffic and parking demand study to secure Planning Commission and City Council approval that included a reduction in parking spaces from City of Alexandria standards. This included an analysis of similar hotels in Old Town, estimation of future parking demand for the hotel, and a review of off-site public parking facilities. The study included elements of transportation demand management (TDM) and a parking management plan to serve the property.