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A new Barnes & Noble will open next week in the West End (bringing a full-service bookstore to the neighborhood).

Community Lodgings plans a 91-unit affordable building in Arlandria to replace three older apartment buildings, keeping all units for renters earning 30 to 60% of AMI, with construction set to break ground in April 2027.

Public hearings on the zoning text amendment are Nov. 5 and Nov. 14, with implementation on Dec. 12.

Barnes & Noble will open a 13,000 sqft store Wednesday, Nov.

4 at 10 a.m. at 4515 Duke Street in the Shoppes at Foxchase; Bsrat Mezghebe will cut the ribbon, Costume Character Arthur will host story time, and shoppers get grand opening discounts and double rewards stamps Nov. 4 to 8.

Tarot reader Aster Soluna is giving readings on Lee Street in Old Town today, and he will host a Reiki sound bath at Refresh on Nov.

1 at 7:30 p.m.

Holly Springs Farm opens today for a three-day estate sale of antiques, furniture, estate jewelry, and original Christmas Lane decorations, running today through Sunday, Nov.

1, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. daily at 571 West Bay Front Road in Lothian (designated parking is in the field to the left).

Preliminary results from the Urban Heat Island Mapping Project show Alexandria as one of Northern Virginia’s hottest areas after about 80 volunteers recorded temperatures on July 21 along 30 routes using rooftop sensors at 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (the hottest reading was 103 degrees in Franconia). GMU’s Virginia Climate Center will release a full report later this year to guide cooling efforts such as tree plantings and land-use changes.

About 130 to 150 ninth-graders from Suma Gakuen in Kobe visited Hayfield Secondary School for classroom exchanges, cultural presentations, and joint activities that resumed after a COVID pause from 2020 to 2024 (Hayfield is at 7630 Telegraph Road).

The City put an interactive construction webcam online that refreshes every 10 minutes so residents can pan + zoom to watch Alexandria City Hall and Market Square renovations; construction will continue for more than two years and project details are on the City Hall Renovation Project website.