More Urban, Less Village

"The amenities I want are right at my doorstep," she said.

On the other hand, the explosive growth may mean that Clarendon will lose some of its entrepreneurial spirit, said Roni Freeman, executive director of the Clarendon Alliance.

"I think there's a concern that we're not keeping opportunity in Clarendon," she said. "It's always seemed like a locally run place, flying a little under the radar, where anybody could try out an idea or a dream."

Just three years ago, Jennifer Marfino opened a funky shoe store called ShoeFly on Wilson Boulevard because the rent was low and sidewalk traffic was high. A Fairfax developer recently purchased the tiny building that houses her store. If she loses her lease when it's redeveloped, she's afraid that she won't be able to find another small, affordable space. Property owners nearby warn her that most stores are reserved for national chains that can occupy at least 3,000 square feet.

"How do I compete with that?" Marfino said. "I welcome the big business because I think it anchors an area and small businesses thrive on their existence, but the problem comes when it's out of balance.

"What happens over the next few years is going to determine how Clarendon is going to look for the next 50 years," she said. "We're at a turning point."

More on the Way

There's no grid in downtown Clarendon. Its layout is more like an arrow, with Wilson and Clarendon boulevards converging near the swooping canopy of the Metro stop. Branching off Clarendon Boulevard is a newer shape, the horseshoe of Market Common, with national chain stores such as Pottery Barn topped by pricey apartments and flanked by townhomes.

Once the exception, Market Common's polished facade has become the model. Station Square, a mix of 308 condominiums and 86,000 square feet of office and retail space on Fillmore Street, was completed in June. The same month, the county Planning Commission approved the Clarendon Center, a redevelopment of two blocks across from the Metro that will add six stories of office and residential space and ground floor retail. Just down the road, fronting Washington Boulevard, 155 condominiums will be built. On the other side of Clarendon Boulevard, the Phoenix project will put 11 stories of apartments above 13,000 square feet of retail space, centered on the gold dome of the historic post office. Three more large-scale developments are in the works around the Metro station.

Ranging from five to 11 stories, the new projects will include 1,042 residential units, 294,081 square feet of offices and 183,474 of retail space. All told, Clarendon has 7 percent of Arlington County's retail space. As a destination for high-end shopping, it is second only to Pentagon City.

The amount of office space, however, lags behind the rest of Arlington's neighborhoods, adding to residents' concern that development is tilting Clarendon's delicate mixed-use balance.

When the housing market boomed, residential development was favored over offices, said Christopher Keever, president of the Clarendon-Courthouse Civic Association, a neighborhood group that often reviews development plans. "If we want to make it a neighborhood where people can live and work, that's something we need to work on," he said.

The success of nightlife hot spots such as Clarendon Ballroom and Whitlow's on Wilson has inspired the opening of a number of entertainment venues along Wilson Boulevard. There are now 43 restaurants and bars in Clarendon, and at least four more are planned to open in the next year.