If you’ve ever been to the Clarendon neighborhood, in Arlington, Virginia, you can probably picture the Silver Diner, near where Wilson Boulevard, Fairfax Drive and Washington Boulevard all come together. That landmark won’t be around much longer.
The Silver Diner in Clarendon, which has been there for 26 years, is expected to close later this year, now that Arlington County has given the go-ahead for redevelopment plans in the area. ARLnow reports the Clarendon location will close the day a new Silver Diner opens in nearby Ballston in October.
After years of discussion, the county has adopted its plans to bring this section of Clarendon closer to its original vision of an urban village, built near a Metro stop.
The update process was focused on the area bounded by Washington Boulevard, North Hudson Street, 10th Street North and Kirkwood Road. The properties there, including the diner, St. Charles Catholic Church, North Side Social, Joyce Motors, a Wells Fargo Bank and a county fire station, are some of the last remaining sites for redevelopment in Clarendon.
Plans for the development include the neighborhood’s first hotel, as well as a new apartment building. Both are a short walk from the Metro. Other development would include ground-level retail.
Streetscapes, including tweaking of street widths and pedestrian safety-areas would work toward making the area more walker-friendly.
For the time being, the country is remaining flexible on the future use of its 10th Street property, where Fire Station 4 is located. Options include co-locating the new station with affordable housing, building a new station on the current site or building a new station at a nearby site.