Vienna To Explore Trail Visitor Center With NOVA Parks

VIENNA, VA — Because the Town of Vienna is at the heart of the 45-mile Washington and Old Dominion Regional Park, the city on April 25 announced it is teaming up with NOVA Parks to explore ways to attract trail users to Vienna through a visitor's center.

The plan represents a way to encourage the trail’s 3 million annual users to stop, shop and dine in Vienna and make the town a central hub of the nationally known trail.

“The goal of the W&OD Trail Visitor Center is to create a sense of identity for this large, regional trail,

offer services to trail users, and share the story of the trail’s inspiring history,” said Paul Gilbert,
executive director of NOVA Parks, in a news release. “The development of a W&OD Trail Visitor Center accomplishes one of the signature projects of NOVA Parks’ Strategic Plan, and we believe this location is ideal for trail users to meet, learn, and explore.”

The project vision includes exploring the use of 125 Church St., an obsolete office building with no
existing tenants that is adjacent to the trail, and 200 Dominion Road, an historic bank building
occupied by an interior design business.

The buildings’ suitability is being studied for a vision that integrates the trail into the neighboring historic and commercial districts. The plan includes establishing separate pedestrian and cycling lanes along Vienna’s W&OD Trail, which is core to improving safety.

“The Town’s partnership with NOVA Parks is a wonderful opportunity to create an attractive
destination for visitors and generate more business to support the local economy,” said Vienna Mayor
Linda Colbert. “This project has the potential to reshape the heart of Vienna from our Town Green
through the industrial corridor on Dominion Road and through the Historic Church Street business
district, and thanks to Congressman Gerry Connolly, we have been able to secure federal funding to
support this effort.”

"I was proud to secure $1 million in federal funding in FY24 to help bring this vision of a W&OD Trail
Visitor Center to life,” said U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly. “We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the
W&OD Trail this past year, and I'm excited to see how this project will help shape the next 50 years for the trail."

The project is in the early stages of planning. It will begin with environmental and structural assessments and will include a community engagement effort over the next two years that will inform decisions made by NOVA Parks and the Vienna Town Council.

For more information about NOVA Parks, visit www.novaparks.com. For more information about the
Town of Vienna, visit www.viennava.gov.