Virginia Railway Express is moving forward with improvements at two of its stations, one marking a long-awaited property transfer in Spotsylvania County and the other preparing for a major new parking facility in Manassas Park.
At its July meeting, the VRE Operations Board approved a contract with Espina Paving, Inc. of Woodbridge to mill and pave the Manassas Park Station parking lot. The work, set to finish before winter, aims to improve the lot’s appearance and safety after recent construction left it looking, as one board member put it, “like a war zone.”
A ribbon-cutting for the improved lot is tentatively planned for October 21, 2025, though the date could change. The board also recommended approval of an agreement with Virginia Electric and Power Company to relocate power facilities that cross the station property.
The lot work comes as Manassas Park pushes ahead with a $34.6 million, 540-space parking garage north of the tracks, opposite the existing station lot. The new garage, now under construction, is designed to serve both VRE riders and visitors to the city’s new downtown—Park Central—which includes a public library, new City Hall, and planned B&B Theaters location. A partial sub-grade level will add another 196 spaces reserved for the city hall and visitor parking.
Funded through a mix of local, regional, and state transportation programs, the garage is expected to be complete by late 2025. It will be connected to surrounding neighborhoods and downtown amenities by a pedestrian bridge over the tracks. City leaders have described the project as a core piece of Manassas Park’s effort to create a walkable, transit-oriented community.
VRE tells us it’s holding a ribbon-cutting for the parking garage on October 21.
Spotsylvania County Property Transfer Finalized
In a separate milestone, the board marked the completion of a nearly decade-long effort to transfer a parking lot property at the Spotsylvania VRE Station to the county.
During the meeting, VRE CEO Rich Dalton presented Stafford County Supervisor Meg Bohmke with a symbolic $10 check, representing the cost of the agreement—about a dollar per year for the 10 years the transfer had been in the works.
“This has been a long time coming,” Dalton said, calling the transaction a sign of the strong partnership between VRE and Spotsylvania County. The station opened in November 2015 as the southernmost point on VRE’s Fredericksburg Line.
