Today we received news confirming the move of Inova Alexandria Hospital to Landmark. This marks the end of a long period of speculation about the future of the hospital. This plan appears to be very similar to what was planned with the Howard Hughes Corporation in 2017-2018, but that did not materialize. Perhaps the addition of Foulger-Pratt to the team of The Howard Hughes Corporation and Seritage Growth Properties made the difference. The city will use $54 million in public bonds to acquire the land at Landmark and will lease the property to Inova. In addition, the city will use $76 million in public bonds for site preparation and infrastructure at Landmark and the adjacent Duke and Van Dorn Street corridors. The city projects that these investments will generate $778 million in city tax revenue over the 30-year life of the bonds. This sum will cover the principal and interest on the bonds, as well as contribute to the city's general fund.
Inova expects to invest $1 billion to create its new medical campus. The campus will contain a larger emergency room, private patient rooms, the Schar Cancer Institute, and a medical office building. The new hospital would be one of only three Level II trauma centers in Northern Virginia.
All of us want Inova to be able to build a first-class hospital facility in our city, and we look forward to working with Inova to achieve that goal. Inova’s attorney has reached out to the Seminary Hill Association (SHA) to explain what steps will be taken in the coming months. There will be two upcoming public meetings about this project. The first will be January 4th from 7:00-8:30 p.m.to discuss the Landmark site. The second meeting will be January 6th from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. to discuss the Seminary Road site. Inova's attorney, Cathy Puskar, will speak at the January 14th SHA meeting at 7:00 pm. Zoom links will be provided for these meetings at a later date. Inova will be seeking a rezoning of the Seminary Road site from R-20 and R-8 to the RA zone. This will allow for greater density on the site in order to maximize the value of their land so they can construct their new Landmark facility. It is their intention to work with a purchaser to build a mix of detached single-family homes and townhomes on the Seminary Road site. Once the rezoning is decided however, Inova will not be the developer, so this project will require careful attention as it moves forward.
I can assure everyone that SHA will be involved in this entire process with Inova and the future developer to ensure that any new community built on the site is in keeping with the character of the Seminary Hill neighborhood. While the project won’t be complete for a number of years, SHA extends congratulations to Inova for bringing their vision to reality for our community.
I wish all of you a happy holiday season and a brighter 2021. Obviously, the year ahead will be a busy one for SHA with new projects happening rapidly. I hope to see many of you on our virtual SHA meeting on January 14th.
Carter Flemming, President, Seminary Hill Association
