This is the first in a series of papers presenting a sensitive 20cm VLA continuum survey of the Galactic center region using new and archival data based on multiconfiguration observations taken with relatively uniform uv coverage. The high dynamic range images cover the regions within -2{deg}<l<5{deg} and -40'<b<40' with a spatial resolution of ~30" and 10". The wide field imaging technique is used to construct a low-resolution mosaic of 40 overlapping pointings. The mosaic image includes the Effelsberg observations filling the low spatial frequency uv data. We also present high-resolution images of 23 overlapping fields using DnC and CnB array configurations. These high-resolution images are sensitive to both compact and extended continuum features with a wide range of angular scales with rms noise of 0.2mJy/beam in the outer parts of the Galactic center region. The survey has resulted in a catalog of 345 discrete sources as well as 140 images revealing structural details of HII regions, supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae, and more than 80 linear filaments distributed toward the complex region of the Galactic center.