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KRKR / King Street Retail

Alexandria, VA · Alexandria Zoning Ordinance

The KR zone governs King Street's historic retail corridor in Old Town Alexandria. It prioritises active ground-floor retail and limits conversions to office at street level. Buildings are subject to the Old and Historic Alexandria District overlay, meaning the Board of Architectural Review must approve exterior changes. Height is governed differently east and west of South Peyton and Harvard Streets -- see the development standards below. Build-to-line requirements maintain the continuous historic streetwall.

Development standards in KR

Front setback	No requirement	6-705(A)
Side setback	No requirement	6-705(A)
Rear setback	No requirement	6-705(A)
Rear setback	Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site	6-705(E)(1)
Maximum height	At most 50 ft	6-705(D)(1)
	Other principal uses, public building: Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site	6-705(D)(1)
	Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site	6-705(D)(2)
Maximum FAR	Other principal uses: At most 1.5	6-705(C)(1)(a)
	Dwellings (all types): At most 1.25	6-705(C)(1)(b)
	Continuum of care facility, continuum of care facility: At most 1.25 “For continuum of care facilities located with 1,000 feet of a metrorail station the maximum permitted floor area ratio is 2.0 and a maximum of 50 percent of the floor space of the proposed development may be residential use. Except”	6-705(C)(1)(c)(1)
	Other principal uses: At most 2 “The maximum permitted floor area ratio is 3.0 for a lot of record existing on June 24, 1992, that contains less than 15,000 square feet all or a portion of which is within 1,000 feet of the King Street Metro Station; provided however that this paragraph shall not apply to lots abutting King Street, nor to lots west of Daingerfield Road.”	6-705(C)(2)(a)
	Dwellings (all types): At most 1.25 “For residential uses located within 1,000 feet of a metrorail station the FAR shall not exceed 2.0, except that an FAR of up to 3.0 may be approved with a special use permit.”	6-705(C)(2)(b)(1)
	Other principal uses, public building: Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site	6-705(C)(1)(d)
	Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site	6-705(C)(2)(c)
Minimum lot size	No requirement	6-705(A)
Minimum lot width	No requirement	6-705(A)
Minimum open space	Dwellings (all types): Not computed here: the ordinance makes it depend on facts about the site	6-705(B)

Each row above is the ordinance’s own rule, written out in words and cited to its section. Where a figure depends on what you build (the kind of building, a conventional or cluster subdivision, an interior or corner lot, or the building’s height), each case is its own line; where it depends on the building height, the cited table says how that height is measured.

Sec. 6-705(C)(1), for properties east of South Peyton Street (south side) and Harvard Street (north side) of King Street: nonresidential 1.5 (up to 2.5 by SUP), residential 1.25 (up to 2.5 by SUP). Different limits apply west of those streets.

Sec. 6-705(D)(1): 50 feet for properties east of South Peyton Street on the south side and east of Harvard Street on the north side of King Street; 75 feet for a public building constructed before January 24, 1998. West of those streets height is set by the King Street Metro Station Height district under Sec. 6-405.

Read from City of Alexandria Zoning Ordinance, effective through 2026-01-24. We last checked with the publisher on 2026-09-24 and found nothing newer -- a check on that date, not a promise about today.

How complete is this market? Across 24,956 parcels we answer 69.7% of the 6 questions this site is built to answer, each with a source you can check. The rest are shown as “not recorded” rather than filled in — we would rather be short than wrong.

Permitted uses in KR

AllowedRetail
Sec. 6-702(A)(1)(e): retail shopping establishment of 10,000 sf or less is a permitted ground floor use. Sec. 6-702(A)(2)(l) makes a retail shopping establishment over 10,000 sf a special use. Office is not a permitted ground floor use -- it is permitted on upper floors only, per Sec. 6-702(B)(1)(c)
ConditionalRestaurant / Food Service
Sec. 6-702(C)(3): restaurant is an ADMINISTRATIVE special use in the KR zone, allowed by the director by administrative review and approval under Sec. 11-513 -- no public hearing. Outdoor dining on private property is likewise administrative under. We could not find this use in the Alexandria zoning ordinance. Confirm with the City of Alexandria Department of Planning & Zoning.
AllowedOffice (Upper Floors)
Sec. 6-702(B)(1)(c): business and professional office is a permitted UPPER FLOOR use. Sec. 6-702(B)(1)(d) adds health profession office. Office is not permitted as a ground floor use (Sec. 6-702(A)(1))
AllowedResidential (Upper Floor)
Sec. 6-702(C)(2.1): multi-unit dwelling units, or up to eight auxiliary dwelling units, are a permitted UPPER FLOOR use. Co-living beyond two dwellings is a special use under Sec. 6-702(B)(2)(a) via Sec. 6-702(A)(2)(c).
ConditionalSTR - Short-Term Rentals
STR permit required for >10 days/year; owner-occupied or unhosted permitted; Sec. 7-1403/7-1404

"Conditional" means the use generally requires a public hearing or special-exception approval — a very different timeline and risk profile from a by-right permit.

This is the zone. What about the parcel?

Zone rules are the starting point — the answer for a specific property also depends on lot size, overlays, existing improvements and site conditions. Run a free address lookup to see what applies to one property.

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Sources

Alexandria Zoning Ordinance — read the ordinance
City of Alexandria — official zoning map / authority
Standards as recorded by Zonescore: Alexandria Zoning Ordinance Arts. IV-V; Sec. 12-1000

Values are read from the City of Alexandria Zoning Ordinance.

Other Alexandria zones

CC CD CDD CDD#1 CDD#10 CDD#16 CDD#5 CDD#9 CDX CG CL CR CRMU/H CRMU/L CRMU/M CRMU/X CSL I NR OC OCH OCM OCM(100) OCM(50) R-12 R-2-5 R-20 R-5 R-8 RA RB RC RCX RD RM RMF RS RT UT W-1