During 1940, the Westover Shopping Center was constructed—a 13-store retail center along Washington Boulevard between Longfellow and McKinley Streets. The shopping center initially included a Safeway grocery store, a "five and dime" store, and a pharmacy. In 1958, county planners noted that the center's "retail sales per store higher... than in any of the five nearby competing neighborhood or community centers. " However, by the late seventies, the center's physical condition and sales had declined. In 1978, the Arlington County Board allocated $50,000 in business and neighborhood conservation funds to supplement $250,000 worth of exterior renovation work planned by the center's owners.