Background
Virginia Hospital Center is a not-for-profit, teaching facility providing comprehensive healthcare to Arlington County.
Challenge
Without additional room to grow on its existing campus, VHC faced an urgent need to expand its capacity to treat patients—both inpatient and outpatient. VHC reached an agreement with Arlington County for a land exchange where the hospital would receive a 5.6-acre parcel of land adjacent to the existing hospital campus. VHC proposed to seek zoning approvals to accommodate a new 250,000-SF outpatient pavilion on the new site, allowing for the renovation and expansion of inpatient services on the existing site. VHC’s proposed plans were met with pushback from the community due to concerns over the proposed facility’s impact on the neighborhood.
Solution
Having engaged Hammes Healthcare as project manager for the new outpatient pavilion, Hammes was instrumental in coordinating efforts in the approval process, including organizing the engineering and architectural expertise and preparing VHC every step of the process. Following a three-year design and review process, the County Board granted approval for the project.
Construction of the new outpatient pavilion began in the third quarter of 2019 and will be completed in 2023. Also included is a new 1,700-car parking garage, which will increase accessibility and convenience for patients.