A new 1,400-space, seven-floor commuter parking deck will be built between Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center and Wegmans in Woodbridge, where a new Potomac Nationals baseball stadium was slated to go.
The stadium deal fell through in 2o17 when the team and county leaders couldn’t reach a stadium financing deal. The team moved to Fredericksburg, became the Fredericksburg Nationals, and is slated to play ball in a new $30 million stadium in April.
A parking garage was part of the negotiations for a new Woodbridge stadium. The state was going to build a new 500-space parking deck next to the stadium for commuters to use during the day, and for baseball fans to on nights and weekends.
The need for more commuter parking in Woodbridge dates back to 2011, when Potomac Mills mall reduced the number of parking spaces it allowed commuters to use by 75% to make way for more restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory and Matchbox.
Residents will have a chance to weigh in on the new parking garage on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at a public meeting held near the construction site, at Freedom High School, at 15201 Neabsco Mills Road from 6 to 9 p.m.
People who attend the meeting will have the opportunity to see project exhibits, discuss tentative project schedules, meet with Prince William County elected officials and transportation representatives and provide input on the Potomac-Neabsco Commuter Parking Garage Project.
The seven-level garage will have nearly twice as many spaces as the county’s largest, 726-space, commuter park-and-ride lot at Telegraph Road.
Written and verbal comments about the project will be accepted at the meeting. People who cannot attend the meeting can email Shikurye at [email protected], or mail comments to the attention of Dagmawie Shikurye, Prince William County Department of Transportation, 5 County Complex Court, Woodbridge Va. 22192. Comments must be received by Jan. 14, 2020.
Details of the project files will be available as they are updated at: pwcgov.org/government/dept/dot/Pages/Current-Road-Projects.aspx under Neabsco Commuter Garage.
The process to build the $36.5-million garage is slated to begin when a design-build contract is awarded in December 2020. Construction is set to begin in April 2021, with a completion date set for April 2023, Shikurye said.
The county will contribute $1 million toward the project with the remainder of the money set to come from the Federal Highway Administration. The administration based the decision to build the parking lot on the Virginia Department of Transportation’s SmartScale program which establishes priorities for transportation projects in the state.
