Work has begun on a new pedestrian plaza in Crystal City

Work has begun to create a new Crystal City pedestrian plaza with office, retail, and restaurant space.

The Century Center office complex — at 2450 Crystal Drive and 2461 S. Clark Street in Crystal City — is undergoing major renovations. The project will result in a new pedestrian and retail plaza between Century Center’s two buildings.

The end result will include new offices, outdoor seating areas, more street-level retail and restaurant spaces, a walkable pedestrian plaza, and streetscape improvements.

When the project is completed, Arlingtonians can expect to find “a neighborhood within a neighborhood,” a spokesperson for the real estate developer MRP Realty said in a statement.

Residents and visitors to National Landing can find a neighborhood within a neighborhood at 2450 Crystal [Drive] and 2461 S. Clark Street. An office community that’s connected to the National Landing experience, yet completely self-sustainable on its own with a variety of shops, services, and dining options. Visitors and shoppers can expect an impressive new plaza with outdoor seating areas, street-level retail, dining, and lifestyle services, and a fresh biophilic design that brings the outdoor elements in. Office tenants will also find new club-quality fitness plus expansive bicycle storage, expansive and impressive lobby, renovated meeting rooms, and 200+ person conference center.

Partial demolition and renovation inside of the lobby at 2450 Crystal Drive began back in February and is set to continue for another year or so.

The work expected to be mostly complete by the end of the year, the spokesperson said, with “final interior finishes” planned to be done by early 2023.

Several tenants have already been confirmed, including a new Primrose Schools Early Education & Care location. The locally-based fast casual restaurant Mezeh, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Subway, which are all already in the building at 2450 Crystal Drive, are all set to remain in the new development.

There are more tenants on the way too, including a “food market” and “boutique fitness club” as well as “upscale restaurants,” the spokesperson tells ARLnow. Additionally, a new retail tenant and a rebranding of the complex are both set to be announced next month.

This plaza project was first proposed as a “refresh” of Century Center about a year ago. It’s a first step in what might eventually be a larger redevelopment of the site, involving a new segment of roadway and a new apartment tower.

Crystal City and the surrounding neighborhoods are undergoing significant change amid the arrival of Amazon’s HQ2 in Pentagon City, the second phase of which was approved by the Arlington County Board this past weekend. The HQ2 site is about a mile from the Century Center complex.