Pike Advocates Eye May 2014 to Launch New Farmers Market

Columbia Pike's long history of being a farm-to-market route for the capital region could enter a new chapter in the spring.

The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, or CPRO, is working with Arlington County in hopes of launching a new farmers market at the soon-to-be-completed Arlington Mill Community Center.

The Pike advocates are looking at a May 2014 launch date for the new market, which would help serve the heavily diverse group of 37,000 residents who live along the corridor.

The sheer number of people in and around the Arlington Mill site, which is in the Columbia Heights West community, bodes well for the success of a second market on the Pike, said Takis Karantonis, executive director of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization.

"Absolutely," he told Patch. "This is a very densely populated neighborhood. It has some of the highest density in Arlington. Columbia Heights West has a higher residential density than Rosslyn."

The existing Columbia Pike Farmers Market, at the corner of Walter Reed Drive and the Pike, would continue to operate on Sundays.

Karantonis and Amy McWilliams, who runs the current farmers market, happened by the Arlington Mill Community Center on Monday as county officials were wrapping up a media tour of the facility.

The pair from CPRO were taking measurements for the new market, which would be in Arlington Mill's outdoor plaza at the intersection of Dinwiddie Street and the Pike.

Several questions still need to be answered, including figuring out the best time and day to hold the market — that will depend on what times the community center has available — not to mention the best way to configure the vendors.

CPRO is preparing to request a use permit for the space at Arlington Mill, Karantonis said.

For more information on the existing Columbia Pike Farmers Market, click here.