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Although one of the
most initial areas of focus for Virginia's innovative Public
Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act (PPEA)
was education facilities, it is now starting to be used in
a variety of ways for all types of infrastructure around the
Commonwealth. An excellent example of how the P3 concept was
applied to meet a long-standing community need was the Donley's
proposal to build a parking deck in the downtown historic
district in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Fredericksburg has a proud history as one
of the cradles of American history. It was here that George
Washington grew up and his mother lived during his days as
leader of the Continental Army. Fredericksburg was at the
crossroads of some of the fiercest fighting in the Civil War
because of its location between the Union and Confederate
capitals.
It has long been a major transportation and commercial hub
for central Virginia, but the continuing expansion of the
Washington D.C. metropolitan area have put significant pressure
on this and surrounding communities to accommodate thousands
of new residents while preserving those quality of life aspects
that make the jurisdiction unique.
Few downtowns in Virginia have the vibrancy
of Fredericksburg. In the 1970s, most people wrote off the
historic downtown shopping district after many of the stores
moved out to Spotsylvania Mall. But during the years that
followed, a dedicated group of local business owners, supported
by city government, preserved downtown and have re-established
it as a vital shopping, dining, and entertainment district.
In addition, historic structures have been rehabilitated,
drawing in thousands of tourists. Unfortunately, more people
brings more need for parking, and space in the downtown area
was running out. New needs were also expected to come on line
with the acquisition of a new office building for city government
and two potential downtown hotels, all creating a need for
more parking. The city had conducted several studies to try
to identify potential locations for new parking decks, but
no progress had been made.
Sensing this need in meetings with local
government officials and area business leaders, Donley's assembled
a well respected team to pursue development of a new parking
garage downtown through the PPEA process. They began with
reviewing all previous studies and spending considerable time
in the community to evaluate the best site. That evaluation
led them to a site bounded by Wolfe and Sophia Streets behind
the new city office building, that consisted of several vacant
lots and underutilized structures.
Donley's teamed up with a local broker who
began putting options on the various properties, thus protecting
the land and keeping costs down. The company then began work
with Wisnewski-Blair, the respected architecture firm from
Alexandria, Virginia, on various designs that complemented
the architecture in downtown Fredericksburg. Donley's submitted
its proposal to the city and worked for months, through a
city election, with members of a local review panel consisting
of downtown merchants and historic preservationists, to design
a deck acceptable to all parties. This is what resulted:
The deck has 297 spaces and was specifically
designed to blend in with the natural surroundings. It has
hand laid brick and a slate roof to resemble Civil War era
warehouses that used to be located along the Rappahannock
River waterfront.
Groundbreaking for the project took
place on November 11, 2004 and completion occurred in October
2005. The project has been a big success, further strengthening
Fredericksburg's downtown retail corridor.
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