Pentagon City, Arlington, Virginia

Pentagon City is an unincorporated neighborhood (also called an "urban village") located in the southeast portion of Arlington County, Virginia, near The Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. Due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., this community of residential, office, and retail complexes is a major tourist stop.

Location

Pentagon City is less than a mile from the Potomac River, which separates the Commonwealth of Virginia from Washington, D.C. It is located on the Blue and Yellow Lines of the Washington Metro, and the Pentagon City Metro station is one of the busiest in the metrorail system during peak and off-peak hours. It is also one of the few metro stations to have SmarTrip-only lanes.

The Pentagon, whose parking lots span both sides of nearby Shirley Memorial Highway (I-395), is located just a couple of blocks away. The neighborhood of Crystal City borders Pentagon City to the east along South Eads Street, and separates Pentagon City from National Airport. Washington Boulevard (State Route 27), Arlington Boulevard (U.S. Route 50), Columbia Pike (State Route 244), Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. Route 1), and State Route 110 are nearby major thoroughfares.

History

The area was formerly known as "ReLee." The land was undeveloped through World War II. In the post-World War II era, the land was held by the Cafritz family pending future development, as empty fields and commercial warehouses. A Western Electric telephone manufacturing facility occupied the structure now redeveloped as "Pentagon Centre."

On July 1, 1977, the Pentagon City Metrorail station opened on the Blue Line. Although the new station bordered a large empty field, the station stimulated high density development.

In the 1990s, MCI Communications had a major presence in Pentagon City, with the company's Consumer Markets headquarters occupying Washington Tower, a 12-story office building that sits atop the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. MCI also occupied two of the four office towers immediately across South Hayes Street, known as Pentagon City I & II (often abbreviated "PCY").

In 2003, the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority proposed five northern Virginia sites as possible locations to host the relocating Montréal Expos. The Costco complex was one of three sites in Arlington County. The other two proposed Arlington sites were a plot of undeveloped land closer to the Pentagon and a site in the neighborhood of Rosslyn. The issue was highly divisive and some Pentagon City residents launched a visible campaign against it. After the Arlington County Board opposed a stadium in Arlington, the final Virginia bid featured a site near Dulles Airport instead.cite web
url = http://www.vabaseball.com/diamond_lake.cfm
title = Virginia Baseball Club: Diamond Lake Project
accessdate = 2007-04-08
publisher = Virginia Baseball Club

] Major League Baseball finally announced in the fall of 2004 that the Expos would move to the District of Columbia as the Washington Nationals.

hopping

The area is primarily known as a shopping district, particularly for the multi-level indoor shopping mall, the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City (also known as the Pentagon City Mall), which includes Macy's and Nordstrom as anchor stores. On the west side of the Fashion Centre is the mixed-use development of Pentagon Row, which includes a Harris Teeter grocery store and many smaller specialty stores and restaurants in the midst of high-end apartments. Pentagon Row features an outdoor ice rink during the winter and a free outdoor concert series on the plaza in the summer.

Other popular retail outlets include Best Buy and Borders Books and Music at the Pentagon Centre, which is located to the east of the Fashion Centre across Hayes Street. Adjacent to the Pentagon Centre is a Costco store, which is housed adjacent to a larger complex of warehouses that are remnants of the area's former industrial character.

Residential

The River House apartments complex includes three older high-rise buildings (The James, The Potomac and The Ashley) that house many residents. Other high-rise luxury apartments and condos on Pentagon Row as well as the four-story Southampton Condominium townhouse community provide housing for thousands of residents. Just across from the Costco complex is the Claridge House, a residence for retired as well as disabled residents.

Virginia Highlands Park, located immediately south of the central retail area, provides a lush green space as well as basketball, tennis, soccer, and softball/baseball facilities. Adjacent to the park are the Aurora Hills branch of the Arlington Public Library system and a firehouse.cite web
url = http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/CPHD/forums/aurora/CPHDForumsAuroraAuroraHillsMain.aspx?tab=Aurora%20Hills%20Fire%20Station
title = Arlington Virginia Aurora Hills Fire Station
accessdate = 2007-04-08
publisher = Arlington County, Virginia Government

] The suburban neighborhood of Aurora Hills, which consists primarily of single-family detached housing, extends due south of Pentagon City.

Notable places nearby

* The Pentagon
* National Airport
* Arlington National Cemetery

References

External links

* [http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/CPHD/Planning/data_maps/metro/pentagon_city/index.htm Pentagon City Metro Station Area Data, Statistics and Development]
* [http://www.commuterpage.com/ART/villages/pentcity.htm Arlington's Urban Villages - Pentagon City]