Arlington, Virginia, United States
Crystal City Underground
The Crystal City Underground is a privately owned network of below-grade corridors and shops in Arlington, Virginia, running from 12th Street South to 23rd Street South and linking office, hotel and residential buildings to the Crystal City Metro station. Developed by the Charles E. Smith Companies from 1976 and now owned by JBG Smith, it lost its retail when the owner stopped renewing leases in 2024. Arlington County's 2010 sector plan calls for its connectivity to be preserved, but the plan is guidance rather than an access guarantee.
Governance
Who owns it, who runs it, what the rules are.
- Owner
- The concourse and the buildings above it are privately owned by JBG Smith, successor to the Charles E. Smith Companies. No public ownership of any corridor was found; a separate pedestrian tunnel under Jefferson Davis Highway at 23rd Street is not part of the Underground.
- Operator
- JBG Smith as property owner.
- Hours
- No published hours found; access is set by the owner. Retail closed at the end of October 2024.[01]
- Public right
- Permissive only. The county plan describes the Underground as part of Crystal City's public realm, but no easement or legal right of passage was found.
- Who pays
- Paid by the private owner. No public funding for the concourse was found.
Legal instruments
- Crystal City Sector Plan (Arlington County Board, adopted 28 September 2010) ↗County land-use policy that calls for preserving the Underground's connectivity, a continuous pedestrian connection from 12th to 23rd Street, links to Metro and parking, and cultural uses. It accepts that redevelopment may change the layout and add street-level crossings, and it recommends removing the pedestrian tunnel under Jefferson Davis Highway at 23rd Street.[02]
Governing bodies
Open issues
- The owner ended all retail leases in 2024, leaving the concourse largely empty despite the county plan's call for an active marketplace.
- Seating and community spaces have been removed in stages since 2018.
- The sector plan expects redevelopment to reshape the Underground, and its long-term route and Metro connection are not secured by any published agreement.
- No public hours or access commitments for the remaining corridors were found.
Timeline
- The Underground opens as a shopping concourse built by developer Robert H. Smith of the Charles E. Smith Companies, connected to new Crystal City buildings.[01]
- The federal Base Realignment and Closure process begins moving defense tenants out, costing Crystal City about 13,000 jobs; Arlington County responds with a planning task force and a business improvement district.[01]
- The Arlington County Board adopts the Crystal City Sector Plan on 28 September, calling for the Underground to be preserved 'in much of its current form' with a continuous connection from 12th to 23rd Street.[02]
- Two community gathering spaces in the Underground close; one becomes a hallway and the other a cinema and restaurants.[01]
- With Amazon's arrival spurring development, JBG Smith, the National Landing Business Improvement District and civic associations form a working group, and residents run an 'Underground Challenge' for revival ideas.[04]
- Remaining tenants learn their leases will not be renewed and most leave by 31 October; seating at the former food court is removed in August.[01]
The story
Crystal City was developed in the 1960s and 1970s by Charles E. Smith and his son Robert H. Smith as an office district beside Washington's National Airport. In 1976 the Smith Companies opened the Underground, an enclosed shopping concourse below the new towers. It grew to more than 100 shops and restaurants and linked offices, hotels, apartments, parking and later the Crystal City Metro station, so people could move around without going outside.
The concourse depended on office workers, and most stores closed early in the evening. Its streets outside were hard to walk, with large blocks and difficult road crossings. When the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process moved defense agencies out, Crystal City lost about 13,000 jobs, roughly a third of its workforce. Arlington County responded with a planning task force and a business improvement district, now the National Landing Business Improvement District.
The county's Crystal City Sector Plan, adopted in September 2010, treats the Underground as part of the area's public realm. It calls for preserving it in much of its current form, with a continuous route from 12th to 23rd Street, connections to Metro and parking, and cultural uses. It also expects redevelopment to change its layout and wants better links to street-front shops. The plan is guidance; the concourse remains private property of JBG Smith, the Smith Companies' successor.
After Amazon chose the area for a second headquarters, JBG Smith, the business improvement district and civic groups formed a working group in 2020 to consider the Underground's future. Instead, community spaces were removed in stages, and in 2024 JBG Smith told remaining tenants their leases would not be renewed. Most left by 31 October 2024. Some corridors remain passable, but no public hours or access commitments were found.
Questions people ask
Who owns the Crystal City Underground?
Is the Crystal City Underground closed?
Does Arlington County protect the Underground?
When did the Crystal City Underground open?
Sources
- Crystal City Underground — Wikipedia (2026)
- Crystal City Sector Plan — Arlington County (2010)primary
- Crystal City Sector Plan — Arlington Countyprimary
- Locals Imagine New Life for Lonely Halls of Crystal City Underground — ARLnow (2020)
- Notes from Underground (of Crystal City's Labyrinthine Mall) — Washingtonian (2017)
About this record
Confidence medium · reviewed 2026-10-19. Built from fetched pages after the session's web-search budget ran out. The 2010 sector plan PDF was downloaded and text-searched and is the strongest source. The 2024 lease non-renewals and 31 October closure come from Wikipedia citing a Washington Post article of 2 January 2025, which could not be fetched; verify against that article or JBG Smith filings. The October 2025 seating removal in Wikipedia is unsourced and was left out. The Wikipedia article carries a 'more citations needed' tag and some editorial tone. Not found: current corridor hours, whether the Metro connection is guaranteed by any agreement, JBG Smith's redevelopment plans for 1750 and 2100 Crystal Drive, and any costs. Bbox is estimated from the street extent in the sector plan.
Map geometry: 15 corridor features, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), as of 2026-10-20. Levels come from OpenStreetMap tags and can be incomplete.
Suggest a correctionJSONCompare systems
© 2026 Open Civic Intelligence Ventures LLC. Quote with attribution and a link; terms.