With the closure of the parking garage underneath City Hall, Alexandria is working on several creative solutions for a growing problem — parking in the heart of Old Town.
As the 180-space Market Square Garage underneath City Hall is unavailable, city staff are revamping a program to get long-term parkers off the street by offering parking discounts after 4 p.m. The city is also working to update its business discount parking program, which is open to as many as 90 spaces at the Courthouse Square Garage (111 S. Pitt Street), according to a presentation before City Council on Tuesday night.
“The discount parking program for Old Town businesses has been in place for several years, but we are in the midst of revamping it,” city planner Max Devilliers told City Council. “Employees of these businesses can park in the Courthouse garage for a total of just $1 after 4 p.m. on weekdays and all day, weekends and holidays. We are working to make this easier to administer through the use of a pre-loaded access card, and then we’ll heavily advertise a program to further encourage employees park off-street.”
Mayor Alyia Gaskins asked staff to return with a more concrete plan on the Courthouse garage proposal before City Council goes on its summer recess in July. She also asked staff to explore some form of agreement with private parking garages around Old Town.
“I’m just trying to figure out how to get people, particularly employees, who are there for multiple hours and can’t turn over their cars during the day,” Gaskins said. “This is where the private garages will be really important.”
City staff are also working on a citywide digital curb inventory (CDS) to track parking activity and prepare for autonomous vehicles.
“CDS is also part of an autonomous vehicle readiness strategy that will allow the city to communicate with connected vehicles in the near term,” Sheila McGraw, the city’s curbside and parking program manager, told City Council. “Using CDS, we are working towards an initial project focusing on loading and pickup and drop off zones, and we are laying the groundwork to extend CDS to more curb use cases in the future.”
Parking near the waterfront became more limited after City Council approved closing the 100 and 200 blocks of King Street in October 2021 and October 2025, respectively, converting the area into a pedestrian zone.
City Councilman John Taylor Chapman says that the city needs to use the King Street Trolley as more of a shuttle around Old Town.
“Yes, we want it to go up and down King Street, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t go a couple more blocks,” Chapman said.
As for reaching out to local businesses, city staffers noted it’s challenging to contact businesses in Old Town. Since the Old Town Business Association shut down in 2024, there’s no single point of contact.
Kelly Grant, the owner of multiple ALX Community co-working offices in Old Town, said that the city needs a parking solution.
“We’re so lucky to live in a place that so many people want to visit daily,” Grant told ALXnow. “All of our guests and neighbors need a parking solution. My hope is that these proposals are the first steps in understanding our infrastructure needs.”
