Arlington’s proposed 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) includes no funding for planning or building new library facilities near Columbia Pike, despite the desires of some in the area.
Still, County Manager Mark Schwartz says he and his staff haven’t forgotten residents’ wishes for an expanded or brand new community library.
“Columbia Pike Library is still on our list of things to do,” Schwartz told County Board members at a June 23 work session on the county government’s $4.3 billion CIP.
Schwartz said the current facility, located just north of the Pike at S. Walter Reed Drive, serves community needs adequately.
“The library is not in a state of deterioration. It had a refresh probably five years ago, I think,” Schwartz told Board members. “We felt like that was something we could push out [to later years].”
Not everyone around the table shared that view.
“My neighbors are asking all the time: ‘What’s happened to the Columbia Pike Library?'” said Board member Takis Karantonis, a resident of the corridor.
Karantonis voiced concern that planning for new or renovated facilities had been “beyond mothballed.”
Following the work session, Andrew Schneider, executive director of the Columbia Pike Partnership, told ARLnow that the library’s future is not the corridor’s most pressing issue — but is something ultimately desired.
“We look forward to engaging in a robust and diverse conversation with all of the Pike’s stakeholders before the next CIP update,” he said. “A thriving community needs community hubs, including libraries, and nobody does libraries better than Arlington.”
One potential location for a future library is at 3108 Columbia Pike. County officials in 2024 purchased the 15,200-square-foot lot for $7.55 million, then demolished the office building that sat on it.
Currently, the lot is used to accommodate vehicles of workers on the Grace Hopper Center, the replacement for the Arlington Career Center that is set to open in August.
There has been no determination of a future use for the parcel. Schneider said the 3108 Columbia Pike site potentially could serve a multitude of colocated uses akin to Shirlington branch library, which since its opening in 2007 has shared a building with Signature Theatre.
“We look forward to facilitating conversations and ideas about the needs and solutions for the Pike and how county assets are best utilized to realize those goals,” Schneider said, adding:
“Personally, I think the county needs more performing arts space, spaces for business incubation and entrepreneurs, and opportunities for businesses and community members to gather in third spaces that are both affordable and attractive to investors, businesses and customers. With time and intentionality, we can bring additional economic benefit to the Pike while also providing excellent community assets like our libraries.”
Karantonis and others at the June 22 meeting said that for the time being, the site could continue to be used by Arlington Public Schools (APS) on an interim basis, to provide parking for students and staff of the Grace Hopper Center.
That would allow the school system to defer construction of a parking structure planned as part of the Hopper site.
“It’s of course up to APS to decide,” Karantonis said. “We could just make the offer.”
Schwartz said it was a possibility. “It might be useful to have conversations with our colleagues at schools,” he said.
Columbia Pike is not the only library project in limbo. County officials have also promised residents of Crystal City a library for their community, but so far have not delivered.
“We’ve been punting on libraries for quite some time,” Board member Susan Cunningham said at the work session, while acknowledging “it’s complicated and there are a lot of moving parts” to consider.
Cunningham said Schwartz’s CIP proposal did not adequately react to “pretty specific” guidance from Board members to address planning for both libraries and community centers.
Another piece of the puzzle is the future of Central Library in the Virginia Square area. County staff are proposing to begin a conversation around 2030 on options for the 1960s-era library building and adjacent Quincy Park.
Central Library is decidedly showing its age. The elevator to and from the parking garage is frequently out of service, HVAC systems at times do not deliver as promised and there are multiple other issues that routinely crop up.
“It’s a bit of a money pit,” Cunningham said.
Schwartz’s CIP proposal, to be acted on by Board members in mid-July, seeks $11.1 million in funding to address issues at Central Library. Improvements will be made to the roof and HVAC system, and the parking garage’s sprinkler system will be replaced.
Earlier this year, Schwartz drew flak from some in the community for proposing to close the Cherrydale branch library as part of his fiscal 2027 budget plan. Ultimately, Board members rejected that recommendation, leaving the community library open.
