GRIFFIN September 2026

8 • CWEA GRIFFIN • September 2026 Since last fall, the skyline of the Central West End has been changing to accommodate the new 30-story Albion West End luxury apartment building at the corner of Kingshigh- way and Lindell boulevards. With the historic Chase Park Plaza on the opposite corner, the Albion joins with the adjacent 36-story One Hundred Above the Park building to serve as gleaming new additions to the neighborhood. That corner, owned by the Koplar family for many decades, served as a parking lot until ground was bro- ken for the Albion last year. While many different projects were pro- posed for the corner over the years — and this latest one went through several delays and changes — plans are now for the project to begin leasing in the first quarter of 2027, with initial partial occupancy in the summer and building completion in the fall of 2027. The development team includes Koplar Properties, Albion Residen- tial and Clayco, which is acting as the design-build firm. Cost for the project is about $150 million. The Board of Aldermen approved sub- Albion luxury tower plans move forward for Kingshighway/Lindell corner sidies of about $9.7 million in 2023 for the project. It will include 305 apartments and 1700 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. “We are thrilled to be a part of this team that persisted through numerous challenges and found a way to get this building start- ed,” said Sam Koplar, president of Koplar Properties, in a statement last fall. “It is personal to the Koplar family, as the Central West End has been the setting for so much of our family history for nearly a century.” When the project was first pro- posed in 2022, neighborhood groups voiced some concerns about the project, including traffic. At the time, developers said they were considering redesigning the bus stop at the corner, among other im- provements. One of these was creat- ing a “bioswales” garden between the Albion and the St. Regis build- ing to the east. It is meant to control The Albion tower takes shape over the Kingshighway and Lindell intersection. water runoff. Planners also said at the time that they would install an “art wall” and create a porch-like effect so the building will have in- creased setback from the streets. Once upon a time in 1986, there was a plan to erect two gleaming new towers at the corner of King- shighway and Lindell boulevards — somewhat like what is now taking shape with the Albion West End and One Hundred Above the Park towers. In 1986 developer, Cordage-Nivek planned a $100 million luxury hotel and an office and condominium complex for the entire block of Kingshighway between Lindell and West Pine. As recounted by writer Suzanne Goell in the book, The Days and Nights of the Central West End (Virginia Publishing, 1991), “it was a very big deal.” Mayor Vince Schoemehl released the details at a July 1986 news conference. The plan called for two 30-story limestone-and-brick tow- ers, each tower to house 62 luxury condos. In addition, the southern tower would house a four-screen cinema and 220,000 square feet of office space. The northern tower, in addition to the condos, was to have a 320-room luxury hotel. A television studio, retail space and parking were also planned. A year later it was announced that the Hilton Hotel Corp. had been named to operate the hotel, when built. The developer later declared bankruptcy and the lot remained vacant. 1986 plan for Koplar parking lot A 1986 rendering of the Koplar plan for the Lindell/Kingshighway parking lot.