The new development is on the site of a huge parking lot next to the Cineplex Odeon and at the end of restaurant row; theatergoers and diners have been parking at the large surface lot for years.
The lot is already largely gone because of construction. A new 800-spot parking garage is planned off the new central plaza.
Residents of Fairlington are also concerned about additional cut-through traffic in their neighborhood. They have been lobbying Arlington County and Federal Realty to put up signs in Shirlington that clearly mark the way to the major roads.
"The signs they've developed don't contain helpful information," said Hilz from the Fairlington Citizens Association. "It's just the shops and restaurants on the signs."
To ease concerns about traffic, Arlington County is planning to enhance bus service to Shirlington and increase connections to parts of Arlington on a Metrorail line. A new $2 million commuter bus facility is planned.
Arlington County, which had concentrated on development of neighborhoods along the Metro line, including Rosslyn, Ballston and Clarendon, has turned its attention to neighborhoods not served by Metro, such as Columbia Pike and Shirlington.
"Shirlington is going to be a useful model of how to generate these types of mixed-use projects off the Metro corridor," Irwin said. "Shirlington is the first such effort to come to fruition in the county."
A hotel and office building are also part of the Federal Realty plan for the area. Briggs from Federal Realty said the timing for the last phase is uncertain, though, and depends on market conditions. "When the market is ripe, we'll get to it," he said.
Although there are not a lot of them yet, the residents of Shirlington seem excited about what's to come.
"I go to the movies a lot already," said Wilmarie Cruz, who moved to Shirlington from Puerto Rico a month ago. "I go to the restaurants a lot too." Cruz rents an apartment at the Windsor at Shirlington Village, one of the two existing rental buildings.
"It's a great place to live," Cruz said. "I'm sure I'll be going to all the new places."
