After years of delays, a major redevelopment project on Columbia Pike is returning for County Board consideration later this month — offering a path forward for an abandoned strip mall.
Toll Brothers Inc. is seeking final county authorization to replace the Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center on the 2600 block of Columbia Pike with a 6-story mixed-use property with 271 apartments and about 15,000 square feet of retail space.
If approved and constructed, the project, called “The Elliot,” will mark the end of a 6-year development saga that has seen multiple properties just east of the Pike’s intersection with S. Walter Reed Drive left vacant in the interim.
Alex Sakes, president of both the Penrose Neighborhood Association and the Pike Presidents Group, has his fingers crossed that the project will finally make it to the finish line.
“I am excited for what the future holds at 2601 Columbia Pike, especially after the heartache Penrose and our Columbia Pike community at large felt when earlier redevelopment plans fell through in late 2022, leaving a shell of what once was,” he said in response to an ARLnow inquiry.
Andrew Schneider, who heads the Columbia Pike Partnership, also is guardedly optimistic not just for this project, but others in various stages of development.
“I hope that this is the first of many exciting projects to get kicked off or to move forward in 2026,” he told ARLnow. “We are eager to continue to work with the developer community, the county and our neighbors to identify additional opportunities while ensuring that we maintain and preserve the things that make the Pike community so special.”
Schneider said ongoing development interest “is a testament to the continued appeal of the Pike” despite current economic conditions and the lengthy road construction that has occurred in the corridor.
“Investors and developers see opportunities on the Pike and the advantages that the Form-Based Code [development option] continues to provide for further development,” he said.
There were high hopes in 2020 that the redevelopment could happen “as early as next year.” But Covid and other obstacles — including the withdrawal of an anchor grocery tenant — stood in the way.
Now, the final plan only requires County Board approval of a use permit, with action expected on Dec. 13. Planning Commission consideration is slated for Dec. 4.
Neither county staff nor the Form Based Code Advisory Working Group evaluating the proposal has raised any major red flags.
The proposal calls for razing the 36,000 square feet of aging properties fronting Columbia Pike, while deeding the easternmost 13,500-square-foot portion of the site to the county government. Ultimately, that space will be incorporated into the adjacent Penrose Square park space.
The portion west of S. Cleveland will be redeveloped into housing and retail, along with 324 parking spaces, 101 bicycle spaces and three loading bays.
The site long had been home to nightlife establishments including the Salsa Room — which moved to Tysons — and Atilla’s, as well as a CVS. The loss of vibrant tenants during the stalled redevelopment effort remains a sore spot with some leaders.
“To this day, I am still frustrated with the numerous small businesses that were forced to close up shop and leave our community after decades of service to our residents,” Sakes said.
Sakes said he was “cautiously optimistic” that the new project could bring mom-and-pop businesses back to the site and deliver other improvements desired by its neighbors.
“We are keeping our eye on actively supporting multimodal accessibility, alongside tree canopy and green space, to make this a top destination on the east end of the Pike,” he said. “While many have the right to exercise trepidation given this parcel’s recent history, I am trying to stay optimistic.”
