More Urban, Less Village
Thriving, Growing Clarendon Risks Losing Its Offbeat Edge

By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 13, 2006

The tiny Museum of Modern ARF was always proud of its eccentricity. Located in the heart of Clarendon since 2002, it was a friendly place where locals would stop by to view offbeat art or homemade documentaries.

This week it's being gutted to make way for a swanky restaurant with a bar on the roof.

Farther down Wilson Boulevard, on a building that for years hosted a bustling weekend flea market, there used to be a giant mural of a single eye, below the motto: "Keep Clarendon Weird."

That was replaced four years ago by a La Tasca tapas restaurant and a Palm Beach Tan salon.

And two blocks east, in an outdoor mall that was a parking lot only a few years ago, residents of $2,000-a-month apartments can pick up an iPod at the Apple store downstairs. But if they need a hammer and nails, they might have to get in the car: Clarendon's only hardware store has been turned into a Ri Ra Irish Pub & Restaurant.

Clarendon, which over the past few decades has become the prototype of a modern urban village, is at a crossroads. Today, the Arlington enclave is a walkable medley of quirky shops and premium national retailers, older tree-lined neighborhoods and soaring new condominiums, a few office buildings, a wide selection of restaurants and a Metro stop. Tucked between the mini-metropolises of Rosslyn and Ballston, it combines homey friendliness with convenient commerce and a 20-minute commute to downtown Washington.

But the neighborhood's character is changing, both driven by and reacting to a shift in its commercial real estate. More affluent, less workaday, more trendy, less mom-and-pop, Clarendon has become such a retail and residential magnet that it may be losing the ambience that made it such an appealing place to live, work and shop.

It's starting to look a lot more urban and less village.

"This isn't a place for hobby businesses anymore," said Terry Holzheimer, director of Arlington Economic Development. "It's gotten more expensive, but the revenue potential is also much higher."

Annual retail sales have increased nearly $200 million in the past five years, Holzheimer estimated. Meanwhile, the number of households has more than doubled in that time -- the steepest rate of growth in Arlington County, according to county planners.

Big-name retailers spotted Clarendon's potential early. Crate and Barrel moved its store from Pentagon City to the outdoor mall at Market Common when it opened four years ago. "Clarendon has that wonderful presence about it that just makes people want to shop there," said Bette Kahn, a Crate and Barrel spokeswoman. She said national chains help local retailers because they draw more shoppers to the neighborhood.

They even draw more residents. Last year, Lynn Mulroney bought a Clarendon condominium in part for its proximity to major stores. She enjoys walking to the Whole Foods and shopping at Ann Taylor Loft without trekking to Tysons Corner.

"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.

Most are independently owned. Only six restaurants are run by regional or national chains. Still, said Nora Gabaldon, owner of Arlington Gift & Garden, "I'd like to see more offices in the area to boost business during the day. It's turning into restaurant row along here, and a village needs more than restaurants."

'Benign Neglect'

Clarendon's business model has in some ways come full circle: In its early days, national chains were the main attraction.

The railroad and trolley lines that converged in the neighborhood in the 1930s brought shoppers to the Sears, J. C. Penney, and G.C. Murphy department stores along Wilson Boulevard.

In the 1960s, modern malls at Tysons Corner and nearby Seven Corners sucked the major retailers out of Clarendon. The area lost its commercial appeal and fell into disrepair. That period of "benign neglect," as many county officials call it, allowed entrepreneurs to take advantage of reasonable rents. Among them were Vietnamese immigrants who filled dozens of vacant storefronts, earning Clarendon the nickname Little Saigon.

In 1979, Metro's Orange line extended through Arlington, launching a new era of development. While neighboring Rosslyn and Ballston developed quickly because of nearby major highways, Clarendon was more cautious.

Density restrictions kept building heights low and strong community involvement kept redevelopment standards high. In 1995, neighborhood residents said a Home Depot would not fit with the area's character, and the home-improvement chain withdrew its plan to open a store in Clarendon. The year before, the County Board rejected a proposed McDonald's restaurant. On the other hand, they welcomed the Fresh Fields market (later bought by Whole Foods Market ) when it arrived in the 1990s.

A new sector plan, the first phase of which was approved by the county in June, maintains tight constraints on development but also gives builders incentives to rent to small businesses and preserve historic structures.

"It's important to remember that, to a point, density is a good thing," said Christopher Zimmerman, Arlington County Board chairman. "You can't support all the range of restaurants and types of stores if there aren't enough people there to actually patronize them."

David DeCamp, one of the forces behind the new Station Square, said the density incentive is a good compromise to preserve some of the art-deco architecture and old-fashioned main-street style. "I don't think anyone wants to overdo it and turn Clarendon into a soulless suburb," he said.

Nick Langman, co-owner of the Clarendon Ballroom, said businesses benefit from working with the neighborhood's idiosyncratic feeling, not against it. He and his partner preserved the hall's tin ceiling and ornate molding. The ballroom often has a line wrapping around the corner on weekend nights.

"You can't buy charm," he said. "You can't rebuild the sense of place that's already here."