Barton Lot Closes As Other Parking Options Open In Fredericksburg

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The Barton Street parking lot in Fredericksburg at the corner of Barton and William streets will close for public parking starting Monday, Nov. 16, the city said Thursday.

The lot will be used for private construction parking for the nearby Winchester Place and William Square development projects. Vakos Companies, a developer, has plans for a development on the Barton Street property.

The city of Fredericksburg has been leasing the Barton Street lot from Vakos Companies for the past several years for public parking while a nearby garage was planned and built. That garage, Vakos' Winchester Street garage is now open and the city's lease on the Barton Street lot is being terminated.

The privately funded, 321-space Winchester Street garage is now open for paid public parking. In addition, numerous on-street parking spaces have been added to the William Street corridor in the past couple of months, and additional on-street spaces will be available as part of the future redevelopment of The Free Lance-Star property.

These two Fredericksburg blocks are being redeveloped into mixed-use projects through about $80 million in investment by Vakos and Wack General Contractor.

“Visitors can find ample parking along William Street, and throughout Downtown,” Fredericksburg Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw said Thursday in a statement. “Thanks to the new garage, the on-street spaces and the numerous additional surface parking lots along this corridor, it will be easy for visitors to find a space.”

Starting Monday, Nov. 9, the city will be temporarily rolling out new 15-minute on-street parking signs scattered throughout the William and Caroline Street corridors for curbside pickup.

The city also owns and operates the Sophia Street garage and offers other on-street parking in downtown. The Fredericksburg City Council also supported the creation of more than 100 new parking spaces at the University of Mary Washington athletic complex, transitioned spaces on College Avenue to residents and added new street parking on William Street next to Saint Mary church.