Springfield Plaza Leases Part Of Lot For Commuter Parking

SPRINGFIELD, VA — As construction on the new Springfield commuter garage is underway, the county is providing an alternative for commuter parking.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved a new lease agreement with the Springfield Plaza shopping center for 108 parking spaces to be used as commuter parking. With the nearby Old Keene Mill Road commuter lot closed for construction of the new Springfield commuter garage, the county sees the Springfield Plaza spaces as a necessary parking option for commuters. While the Old Keene Mill Road commuter lot typically operates at capacity with 278 spaces, Board of Supervisors meeting documents noted parking demand has dropped during the pandemic.

"As we are currently building a new parking garage to service residents in this area, these spaces will be available until that parking garage is completed," said Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk at Tuesday's meeting.

The Springfield parking garage groundbreaking was held in October 2021, and the project completion is expected in 2023. The six-level parking garage will have approximately 1,000 parking spaces with a bus transit center and seven bus bays, slugging spaces, pick-up and drop-off parking spaces, a pedestrian bridge over Old Keene Mill Road connecting to Springfield Plaza, bicycle storage, and community gathering areas on the ground level and roof.

The lease agreement between the county and Springfield Plaza helps with maintaining costs for the parking lot. According to Board of Supervisors documents, the Springfield Plaza owner has allowed the county to have a park-and-ride lot at the shopping center since the early 1980s. The shopping center has maintained the commuter lot at its own expense until 2012 when a formal agreement was created. Under the agreement, the county provided a quarterly payment of $4,050 to cover use and maintenance of 108 parking spaces. That agreement was renewed in 2017 but had expired.

The new lease agreement sets a monthly cost of $90.11 per space in the first year and $92.81 per space for the second year. The county estimates the annual costs would be $116,779.80 for the first year and $120,283.20 for the second year. The lease agreement runs from through Sept. 30, 2023.

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