Toll Brothers has submitted a plan to demolish the Best Western Colony Inn in Old Town Alexandria and replace it with townhomes, the Washington Business Journal reported. According to the report, the structure would consist of 19 townhome-style buildings, each four stories high. 

The Washington Business Journal noted that this would mean the end of Old Town’s last affordable hotels. The Towne Motel, Travelodge, and Best Western will be replaced with either more expensive hotels or be put to another use, the article explained. 

Rendering Courtesy of Rust/Orling Architecture

Toll’s application will be reviewed by the Board of Architectural Review - Old and Historic, at an upcoming meeting, the Washington Business Journal noted. The application argues that the building holds no historic value and that the planned structures would, in fact, better represent the historical architecture of Old Town Alexandria.

"The proposed buildings would benefit the public interest, as they are architecturally more compatible with buildings of historic architectural merit found elsewhere on Washington Street,” architect John Rust said in the application. “Their Victorian style is richer in architectural detail and changes in plane, architectural details, roof heights, massing, and articulation reduce the expression of the footprint."

The Washington Business Journal notes that the proposal said the structures will be “almost entirely brick, with Juliet balconies, cast stone lintels, angled shingled roofs and synthetic wood enclosed porches.”