New community center key to Fredericksburg parks plan

The Fredericksburg City Council has adopted a new master plan for parks and recreation that calls for a new community center that could be located along Interstate 95.

A community center is the centerpiece of the master plan. The size and offerings of the new center would be based on the growing population and the desires of residents on what programs they would like to have at the center.

The conception of the new center would include offices for the Fredericksburg Parks, Recreation, and Entertainment Department, a gymnasium with multi-use courts, a wellness room, aerobics studio, locker rooms, concessions, a playroom, a game room, and a multi-purpose room for programming and rentals.

The master plan suggests stationing the new community center along the Interstate 95 corridor between Plank Road and Cowan Boulevard. The center's placement intends to serve highly populated areas of Fredericksburg and areas where parks may not be nearby.

The plan also suggests that the center's location could help attract sports tourism to the local area.

Lose Design, the Tennessee-based company that conducted the study and formulated the master plan estimated that constructing the new center would cost $10 million. Lose further estimates that the center could potentially cost $20-35 million if Fredericksburg decided to add an aquatics facility to the center.

The estimates made by Lose were based on a previous community center constructed by the company.

The study also suggests that the new offices could potentially allow for the repurposing or selling of the Dorothy Hart Community Center. According to the report, if the center was sold, then the profits could offset the costs of the new center.

No member of the Fredericksburg City Council has mentioned a potential sale of the Dorothy Hart Community Center for any purpose as of this report.

The master plan was commissioned to find and survey the needs of Fredericksburg's parks and recreation over the next 10 years. Conducted by Lose Design, surveys and studies were used to put together a comprehensive plan that would guide Fredericksburg on how to proceed with the development of new parks and the upkeep of its current parks.

The study had some delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, which kept it from being completed before 2022.

Both Fredericksburg and nearby Stafford County have been discussing local parks and recreation. Stafford County decided to charge visitors a $20 parking fee to Historic Port of Falmouth, a riverside park across from Fredericksburg. Non-Stafford County residents will pay the fee.