A planned visitor center for the Washington & Old Dominion Trail received $1 million in Virginia's new state budget, money earmarked to buy property along one of Vienna's most prominent commercial corridors.
State Sen. Saddam Salim and Del. Holly Seibold announced the budget earmark on Wednesday. The funding is designated for property acquisition at one of two candidate sites: a vacant office building at 125 Church Street or a former bank building at 200 Dominion Road that currently houses an interior design business.
Salim said he introduced the budget amendment at the request of the Town of Vienna's Economic Development Department. "I have heard from countless residents who use the trail and want to see it protected," Salim said in a statement. "This visitors' center is an investment which shows our commitment to the trail's future as well as the future of bike and pedestrian travel throughout our region."
The earmark adds to $1 million in federal funding previously secured by the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, bringing total public dollars committed to the project to $2 million. The town's 2026 legislative agenda had requested $8 million from the state, $4 million for property acquisition and $4 million for improvements. The state earmark covers a fraction of that full ask.
Why Vienna
The 45-mile paved trail runs from Shirlington to Purcellville, and Vienna sits at its geographic center. NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert cited that midpoint location when he publicly announced the visitor center concept at an Arbor Day event at the Vienna Town Green in April of 2025.
The trail draws more than 2 million users per year, according to the NOVA Parks website. Town and parks officials see the center as a way to convert pass-through cyclists and pedestrians into customers for Church Street shops and restaurants. Plans also call for separate pedestrian and cycling lanes through town, a "dual trails" design currently found only in Falls Church City along the same trail system.
Mayor Linda Colbert has said the project could connect the Town Green, the Dominion Road industrial corridor and the Historic Church Street business district into a unified destination for visitors and residents.
The properties
NOVA Parks and the Town of Vienna signed an option agreement in late April 2025 to potentially acquire both sites. The Church Street property is described as an obsolete office building adjacent to the trail with no existing tenants. The Dominion Road building is a former bank.
Both properties sit within walking distance of the trail and the town's commercial core.
