H&R Block on Columbia Pike closed, as redevelopment of building nears

The H&R Block on Columbia Pike has closed, even with tax season just around the corner.

The signage has been taken down from 2607 Columbia Pike and all the furniture is gone, leaving only beige carpet and scattered cords.

A company spokesperson tells ARLnow that the office is being relocated and is “working as quickly as possible to reopen,” but didn’t give a reason why the tax preparation company closed this particular location.

The closure likely has something to do with the approaching redevelopment of Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center, which housed the tax preparation company’s local storefront.

All the tenants at the shopping center, including Legend Kicks, Atilla’s Restaurant, and the Columbia Pike Partnership (CPP), received a notice to vacate by May 31 of this year, according to CPP’s deputy director Amy McWilliams.

Over the last two years, several have already moved out, including the Salsa Room in early 2020.

The plan is to replace the one-story aging structure, located just west of Penrose Square, with the Elliott, a multi-story, mixed-use building with about 250 apartments and 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. There will be a renovated CVS and a grocery store, according to Urban Turf.

There are rumors that the grocery store could be an Amazon Fresh location. The shopping center is located about two miles from Amazon’s under-construction HQ2 in Pentagon City.

Yep, post-redevelopment it will be apartments, a new CVS, a doubling in size of Penrose Square Plaza and a grocer (almost certainly an Amazon Fresh) https://t.co/vptXfEyHO9

— Chris Slatt (@alongthepike) December 29, 2021

Developer Insight Property Group says on its website that construction on the redevelopment project is expected to begin this year. ARLnow has reached out to the company for more information about plans and the project, but has yet to hear back as of publication.

A spokesperson for the county tells ARLnow the project could kick off as early as February. That’s when the County Board will likely consider a special use permit which will allow developers to finalize engineering, building, and landscaping plans, and demolition by the fall.

“In this scenario, construction would likely conclude by early 2025 at which point the new building could begin to be occupied,” writes Erika Moore, a spokesperson for the county’s Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development.

During construction, CVS is expected to move its pharmacy services to a trailer in the existing parking lot, notes Moore. The trailer will remain open until the project’s completion, at which point CVS will relocate into the new building.

The county couldn’t comment on the status of the other tenants.