# Ballston Commons

Arlington, VA · mall · tier: curated · Retrofit Atlas record `m-8f2803bc32` · release 2026-10-20

Canonical: https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/va/arlington-ballston-commons/  
JSON: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/m-8f2803bc32.json · Provenance: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/m-8f2803bc32.provenance.json · API: https://retrofitatlas.org/api/v1/sites/m-8f2803bc32

## Facts

| Field | Value | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Status | partial | reported · authors' map |
| Strategy | redevelop, regreen | reported · authors' map |
| New use | retail | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| What is there now | • Partial redevelopment: mixed use • • Partial regreening: park | reported · authors' map |
| Opened | 1951 | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Retrofit year | 2013 | reported · authors' map |

## Quoted support

- **year_opened**: “It opened in 1951 as Parkington Shopping Center” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballston_Quarter

## Timeline

- 1951: Opened as Parkington Shopping Center
- 1986: Remodeled as Ballston Common Mall
- 2013: Retrofit: redevelop, regreen
- 2019: Remodeled as Ballston Quarter

## Background (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened)

Ballston Quarter is one of the first major suburban shopping centers built in the Washington metropolitan area. It opened in 1951 as Parkington Shopping Center and was the nation's first shopping center built around a multi-story parking garage. It is located at the intersection of Glebe Road and Wilson Boulevard in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington County, Virginia, two blocks from Ballston–MU station on the Washington Metro's Orange and Silver lines. It was remodeled as Ballston Common Mall in 1986 and again in 2019 as Ballston Quarter.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballston_Quarter

## Sources

- Quoted support for year_opened — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballston_Quarter
- Retrofitting Suburbia Interactive Mall Map (ArcGIS web map ce33ab26…) — https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=ce33ab2637374aab862b8a23847f620f (2021-01-20)

## Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Ballston Commons, Arlington, VA." Record m-8f2803bc32, release 2026-10-20, tier curated. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/va/arlington-ballston-commons/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

```bibtex
@misc{retrofitatlas_arlingtonballstoncommons,
  title = {Ballston Commons, Arlington, VA},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/va/arlington-ballston-commons/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-8f2803bc32, release 2026-10-20, tier: curated. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-20}
}
```

Licence: research use only; terms undecided with the authors (https://retrofitatlas.org/licence/). Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0. Tiers: curated = from the authors' public map, not reviewed by them; draft = imported or model-extracted, unreviewed.