With three years of a sometimes harrowing transportation-improvement effort coming to a close by the end of the year, the Columbia Pike corridor is primed a new chapter of growth.
“We are, together, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel” on road, transit and pedestrian/bicyclist upgrades up and down the 5-mile corridor, said Hui Wang of the Arlington Department of Environmental Services.
“We know [what] the community has really endured,” Wang said during the 2025 “State of the Pike” forum, hosted by the Columbia Pike Partnership and held online.
About 100 people participated in the event, which looked at current and future conditions in the key South Arlington corridor running from near the Pentagon west to the Fairfax County line.
The package of multi-modal transportation upgrades has caused traffic woes and, as importantly, has proved problematic for business owners on the Pike.
With the work set to wrap up this year, county-government efforts will start focusing on “mitigating some of the negatives of the construction,” said Kate Ange of Arlington Economic Development.
That pleased Alex Sakes, president of the Penrose Neighborhood Association, which represents residents in the eastern Pike area.
Sakes also chairs the Pike Presidents Group, a coalition of the leaders of 11 civic associations touching the corridors.
That group has been reinvigorated in the post-pandemic era, having returned to in-person meetings. The goal of the body, Sakes said, is to “find commonality on the issues that matter most.”
In addition to support of small businesses, Sakes pointed to overall economic development, transit, public safety and parks/schools as key areas of attention.
Concerns about the potential impact of Trump administration polices also were discussed.
The massive transportation-infrastructure upgrade on the Pike was a somewhat delayed response after county leaders, in late 2014, abandoned the Columbia Pike streetcar project. Local leaders say the ongoing transportation upgrade in the corridor has been a case of short-term pain for long-term gain.
But the pain for some has been acute.
“I truly understand the challenges” of upgrading transportation infrastructure, Sakes said.
County Board Chairman Takis Karantonis, a Pike resident and former executive director of the Columbia Pike Partnership when it was known as the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, echoed staff comments that work was almost done.
“Just one year in front of us,” he said. “We’re on track. It will be relatively soon now.”
Once the entire project is concluded, Karantonis said, the goal of multiple county departments will be to “make up for lost time, revenue and customer base” that was endured by the business community in the corridor.
Upheaval caused by the transportation project may be one reason that the Columbia Pike development corridor seems somewhat stalled.
Development efforts are moving “a little bit slower than what we were anticipating a few years ago,” Karantonis said, calling the results “not dynamic enough” for his liking.
But Diana Nakarmi, board chair of the Columbia Pike Partnership, predicted a new boost of enthusiasm once all the transportation improvements wrap up.
“We have an opportunity to turn those challenges into opportunities,” Nakarmi said during the 90-minute forum.
The ultimate result, she said, would be an “even more vibrant, inclusive and thriving community.”
Nakarmi is cofounder of Pentagon Mixed Martial Arts, located in the Pike corridor.
Sandra Claros, owner of Abi Azteca Grill & Bar in the corridor, said businesses have suffered but are trying to stay positive.
“We’re still there, and we hope to be there for another 10 years,” she said. “I hope we can make it — I really love Columbia Pike.”
Transportation conditions have improved significantly in recent months, Claros said, but remain less than ideal.
“I hope you are done very soon,” she told county officials.
It was a view shared by many.
“More so than anything else, we’re just looking to get it over. That’s the bottom line. Nobody is looking more forward [to completion] than our small businesses and residents,” said Columbia Pike Partnership executive director Andrew Schneider.
This $114 million transportation project is being funded through local commercial-property taxes earmarked for transportation, augmented by support from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
The Columbia Pike corridor is home to nearly 20% of the county’s population, 25% of its public-school students and 30% of its committed-affordable housing, Schneider said.
Neighborhoods in the corridor include Alcova Heights, Arlington Heights, Arlington Mill, Arlington View, Barcroft, Columbia Forest, Columbia Heights, Douglas Park, Forest Glen, Foxcroft and Penrose.
Future efforts by the county government in the corridor will include tourism promotion, with one focus being on the wide array of shops and eateries available.
Some are not waiting, but are taking their own actions to help out.
The county government’s Wang, a key leader in the transportation-upgrade effort, said she asks her adult children to patronize Columbia Pike businesses whenever possible.
“I tell them, ‘Mama made a mess there,'” Wang said.
