Riverfront Park, Fredericksburg's First Smart Park, Celebrates Grand Opening

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The City of Fredericksburg's first "smart park" had its grand opening on Saturday. Riverfront Park, which is located on Sophia Street, is now open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day.

As its name suggests, Riverfront Park is situated along the Rappahannock River. The four-acre park encompasses the 500 to 700 blocks of Sophia Street with open space, an event space, an interactive water feature, a meadow area, and a children’s play area.

The smart park designation references features like solar-powered lighting, free public Wi-Fi, flood sensors, and security cameras. In a news release, the city said the park's advanced features were made possible through a $75,000 grant from Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation.

Dave Ihrie is the CTO and vice president of strategic initiatives for Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation.

"In 2018, Fredericksburg was the very first community to step forward and collaborate as part of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) Smart Communities initiatives," Ihrie said. "It is very exciting to see those early visions come to life in a great community space like Riverfront Park that incorporates some of the latest Internet of Things and public Wi-Fi technologies as one part of the community place-making activity. We look forward to continued collaboration with Fredericksburg as a leading innovation partner."

The new park is also home to the mother otter in Fredericksburg Main Street’s Otter-ly Amazing Trail. The interactive art installation intends to promote awareness of the local ecosystem and the artistic community through the partnership between the city and local businesses.

"We look forward to the public 'hunting' for the bronze river otters downtown and enjoying all the wonderful restaurants, coffee shops, and retail along the way," said April Peterson, lead on the Otter-ly Amazing Fredericksburg Project. "The otter will now proudly serve as a symbol of the health and vitality of our city, and each otter sculpture will inform residents and tourists about the attributes of beautiful Downtown Fredericksburg."

City officials already have more plans for the park's future. The park is plumbed for future restrooms and city staff are soliciting private donations in an attempt to build a permanent stage.