Ballston Quarter Still Not Quite Open for Business

The day of Ballston Quarter’s planned opening has arrived, but the revamped mall doesn’t seem ready for customers quite yet.

Forest City, the developer engineering the complete overhaul of the former Ballston Common mall, initially hoped to open some stores up by September. But a few weeks back, the company revealed that it was pushing the open date, targeting today (Thursday) instead to have at least some sections of the development open for business.

But, as of this morning, the mall is still very much an active construction zone.

Some sections of the sidewalk along Wilson Blvd previously closed to pedestrians have reopened, revealing portions of the Ballston Quarter plaza that were once obscured from view. Yet the development’s doors are still locked, accessible only to people with key cards.

A spokeswoman for Forest City says the developer plans to offer more details soon, but did not immediately provide an update on any revised opening date.

The company originally reported a few construction delays to county officials this summer, though those were associated with the overhaul of the pedestrian bridge connecting Ballston Quarter to 4201 Wilson Blvd and the Ballston Metro station. However, Forest City also recently secured the county’s approval for outdoor seating at six restaurants in its outdoor plaza, and plans to make that area (as well as several other sections of the mall) accessible to customers as the development’s various stores open.

Forest City is aiming to have its full range of restaurants, retailers and other offerings open by spring 2019 or so.