Ballston Mall Approved for Massive Overhaul

ARLINGTON, VA — The Arlington County Board voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve $55 million in public financing for the Ballston Quarter redevelopment, a massive transformation that will totally change the look and feel of the area in the coming years.

The board formalized the public-private partnership that will change Ballston Common Mall into Ballston Quarter, a mixed-use urban retail project. The development agreement that was approved outlines the responsibilities of Forest City, the developer of the project, to build identified infrastructure improvements, according to a statement from the board.

“As anyone who has driven by Ballston Mall recently can see, its transformation into Ballston Quarter — an exciting regional shopping, dining and entertainment center in the heart of Ballston – is already underway,” Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey said in the statement. “The Board’s action today formalized our partnership with Forest City to complete the transformation. Importantly, the agreement includes provisions that both protect the County from unexpected costs if the project experiences difficulties, and ensures that we will benefit if the project does significantly better than anticipated.”

Deborah Ratner Salzberg, president of Forest City Washington, pointed out that the developer has been involved in Ballston for 30 years and the company "look[s] forward to building on that legacy with Ballston Quarter."

"This project is a perfect example of Forest City’s long term investment in communities," she said. "It was the first project I worked on at the company and will now be the newest example of our urban mixed-use placemaking strategy."

Image via Arlington County