Arlington plans to rip out most of the grassy median behind Clarendon Metro to create a more open, usable space. (Photo: TBD Staff)

The Clarendon Metro plaza will undergo a major revamp during the next few months, and work began this week on some preliminary installation of new paving materials in the park behind the metro, according to Arlington County officials.

The project will expand the area of the Metro plaza and make improvements to the park — which is apparently the "Central Park" of Arlington, according to its official name — by this summer.

The improvements will make the front section of the plaza wider, providing more space for the Wednesday farmers market, and also remove the grassy area stretching back from the escalator entrance to the elevators. There are also plans to install a covered bike storage rack, and modular newspaper racks. (Will it keep them from blowing over? Only time will tell.)

Crews are out there now installing one segment of the new paving stones that will cover the entire walkway as a test, according to Arlington County Parks and Recreation spokesperson Nathan Spillman. The completed park will also include movable tables and chairs, a "historical representation of Clarendon," and electrical outlets so the park can be used for more events, according to the plans.

The schedule outlined for the project on the county's website predicts it will be complete by June 2011, although Spillman says that the work is expected to "commence this summer."