Archive: April 16, 2015

City of Alexandria Approves New Old Dominion Boat Club

The Project Represents the First of Many for Alexandria’s New Waterfront Plan

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Michael Winstanley Architects & Planners is pleased to announce that the Alexandria City Council approved the Special Use Permit that clears the way for the construction of a new clubhouse for the Old Dominion Boat Club (ODBC). The project is expected to be under construction by this summer, with an anticipated opening in the fall of 2016.

The approval for the new club represents an end to years of acrimony between the City and the ODBC. Over last summer, the club formally agreed to accept Alexandria’s offer to move to the city-owned Beachcombers site at the base of Prince Street. The Beachcombers property is bordered by Prince Street to the north, the Potomac River to the east, Strand Street to the west and an asphalt parking lot to the south.

The new clubhouse also represents the first project to be implemented in the City’s proposed waterfront plan that includes a new twenty foot wide promenade along the water, new parks, and the creation of Fitzgerald Square at the base of King Street, the current location of the ODBC.

“This is a truly watershed moment in the history of Alexandria.” says Tom Hulfish III, Chairman of the ODBC Building Committee and whose father built the Beachcombers building in 1947. “I am so pleased the design of the new club will represent both the history of the waterfront and the history of the ODBC”.

The proposed new clubhouse will be a three-story structure, approximately 13,800 square feet, with a 45-car parking lot on the south side of the structure. On the ground level will be an entry lobby with historic artifacts on display, storage, lockers and showers, and loading/service areas. The first floor will feature a large open hall for member meetings and banquet rentals, administrative offices, a prep kitchen and outdoor patio. The second floor is to include a ballroom, member’s board room, and a full kitchen. The roof level, much like the Beachcombers, will also be utilized for entertainment purposes.

The design of the ODBC is meant to reflect the narrative of a long history of this location and the Old Dominion Boat Club’s own history. In the early years, this site was, in fact, in the water. The piers and decking for the front of the building illustrate the history of the waterfront dating back to the 1700s. The Beachcombers was built in the late 1940s, and the retention of this structure will assure this legacy. Lastly, the addition to the Beachcombers building has been designed to reflect the history of the boat club by using materials and detailing similar to what a boat builder would propose.

The Old Dominion Boat Club is the longest continuous use along the city’s waterfront; and with this move, the club will have been in three locations. In August of 1880, thirty-six young men gathered at the Mansion House to form a club dedicated to water sports – sailing, rowing, canoeing and swimming. They called their new association the “Old Dominion Boat Club of Alexandria.” The members built their first clubhouse on the Strand near the foot of Duke Street, and by 1891 the club had acquired two four-oared shells, two double outriggers, and a 60’ barge. In 1923 the members built a new clubhouse at its current location, 1 King Street.

Cardinal Wuerl Blesses New Athletic Field

New Turf Field Launches the Campus Enhancement Project

BETHESDA, MD – Michael Winstanley Architects and Planners (MWAP) is pleased to announce the completion of a new multipurpose field at the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. The field was officially dedicated with the blessing by His Eminence Donald Cardinal Weurl on March 23, 2015, following an all-school mass held in the school’s gym. The new field will be named after Sacred Heart founder St. Madeleine Sophie.

The new turf field and new entrance improvements are part of a larger Campus Enhancement project. MWAP was instrumental in the design and construction of the project, serving first as the master planner for the campus and later as the Architect of Record for the field and entrance improvements project.

“After 8 years master planning and programming, it’s a real pleasure to see Stone Ridge move forward with this project.” says Leejung Hong, Team Leader for MWAP. “The new field and entrance completely transformed and modernized the 70 year old campus.”

The Bethesda campus was first inaugurated in 1947 by the Society of the Sacred Heart and was the former estate of George Ernest Hamilton, a two-term dean of Georgetown School of Law. The 35 acre parcel was fondly known as the “Stone Ridge” in the rural landscape of the day. Today, the campus is much more urban, surrounded by two of the largest government institutions in the country: the National Institutes of Health and the National Naval Medical Center.

The goal of this Campus Enhancement project is to provide a first-rate turf field for their growing athletic program. It will serve primarily Stone Ridge’s field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse programs as well as the physical education program of all Stone Ridge students. Equally important to the growth of the campus, this project will improve the main entrance to the school, flow of traffic on and off the campus with strategically placed roadways and parking areas, and it will accommodate the State Highway Administration’s changes to our neighboring roads.