Ballston Common Mall 3.7

Ballston Common Mall, which originally opened as Parkington Shopping Center in 1951, was one of the first major suburban shopping centers in the Washington D.C. area. It was the first shopping center built around a multi-story parking garage in the United States. It was located at the intersection of Glebe Road (Virginia State Route 120) and Wilson Boulevard in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, two blocks from Ballston-MU Station on the Washington Metro's Orange and Silver lines. The Ballston Common mall opened on October 20, 1986, and was a $40 million replacement for the Parkington Shopping Center. The 530000sqft center was developed in limited partnership with the May Centers, a subsidiary of the May Company who, at the time, also owned one of the anchors, Hecht's.On May 31, 2016, most businesses closed so the mall could be redeveloped into Ballston Quarter.HistoryThe $6.5 million Hecht's store opened in the Parkington Shopping Center on November 2, 1951. At its opening, the five story, 300000sqft store was the largest suburban department store on the East Coast. A man was electrocuted during the construction of the store. Over the years, the $15 million Parkington Shopping Center expanded to 30 stores including Giant Food, McCrory's, Hub Furniture, Crawford Clothes, Franc Jewelers, W.T. Grant, Wilbur-Rogers Women's Apparel, A.S. Beck Shoes, Brentano's Books, and Casual Corner. In May 1974, J.C. Penney opened a 36327sqft soft line merchandise and catalog store.