The former Landmark Mall will be redeveloped as a huge hospital campus anchored by an expanded Inova Alexandria Hospital, the Virginia city said Tuesday.
The move is seen as a way to revitalize the West End of the city where the now unoccupied mall sits on 52 acres near Interstate 395.
The City of Alexandria and Inova Health System have been working on the plan for the 4-million-square-foot community for more than a year.
“As the new location for Inova Alexandria Hospital, the Landmark site would allow for comprehensive, patient-centered programs and services that include a larger emergency room; private patient rooms; and the Inova Schar Cancer Institute at Alexandria Hospital, which would offer full cancer services, including radiation and infusion,” the city said in a news release.
“The hospital would be one of only three Level II trauma centers in Northern Virginia, seven statewide, and 270 nationwide, providing 24-hour specialty services for brain injuries, complex fractures, and other trauma care. The addition of a medical office building would allow an estimated 50 specialty physicians to see patients on the same campus as the new hospital,” the release said.
Inova will invest $1 billion to build a new medical campus. It would relocate its more than 2,000 employees from the current Inova Alexandria Hospital on Seminary Road.
Construction could begin as soon as 2023, with the first buildings delivered in 2028.
“Inova Alexandria Hospital has been an anchor in our city for generations, and a new, modern hospital facility at Landmark would be the perfect site for the world-class care that is synonymous with Inova,” Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said in a statement.
“This redevelopment would bolster our economy, providing mixed-income housing, new municipal facilities and services, and new open space in support of the health, wellness and quality of life of our entire community,” Wilson said.
As for the Seminary Road location, the hospital system “intends to work with the community to request that the City rezone the current Inova Alexandria Hospital site on Seminary Road to permit a variety of residential uses, to facilitate the sale of the property in advance of the relocation to the Landmark site,” the release said.
“We are thrilled for the potential to build a new hospital and medical campus, one that would allow us to expand our seamless system of care, increase our services, and elevate the facilities in Alexandria and throughout the region for decades to come,” said Dr. J. Stephen Jones, president and CEO of Inova.
In addition to a hospital, the property will be a “mixed-use, walkable urban village” that includes residential, retail, commercial and entertainment, the city said.
Transit options and a network of parks and public paces will also be incorporated in the development, including a new Alexandria Fire-EMS station.
Under the plan, the city would use $54 million in public bond financing to buy the land for the hospital and lease it to Inova, as well as $76 million in public bond financing for site preparation and infrastructure at the Landmark site and adjacent Duke Street and Van Dorn Street corridors.
The city said the investments are expected to generate $778 million in city tax revenue over the 30-year life of the bonds.
The joint venture also includes real estate investment and development firm Foulger-Pratt, commercial developerThe Howard Hughes Corp. and the self-managed real estate investment trust Seritage Growth Properties.
Two virtual community information meetings will be held to give an overview of the project:
- Landmark Site Redevelopment — 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 4
- Seminary Site Rezoning — 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 6.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect the correct year the project is expected to be finished.
