(Left to right) Alexandria Vice Mayor-elect Amy Jackson, Mayor Justin Wilson, Stonebridge Principal Douglas M. Firstenberg and Inova Alexandria Hospital President Dr. Rina Bansal at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard, Nov. 15, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)
(Left to right) Alexandria Vice Mayor-elect Amy Jackson, Inova Alexandria Hospital President Dr. Rina Bansal and Mayor Justin Wilson at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard, Nov. 15, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)
Dr. Rina Bansal, president of Inova Alexandria Hospital at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard, Nov. 15, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)
Joe Haggerty, President of the Chamber ALX, at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard, Nov. 15, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)
Douglas M. Firstenberg, principal of Stonebridge, at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard, Nov. 15, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)
J. Stephen Jones, president and CEO of the Inova health System, at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard. (staff photo by James Cullum)
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson speaks at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard, Nov. 15, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)
Alexandria City Councilman John Taylor Chapman and his son at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard, Nov. 15, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)
Alexandria Fire Chief Corey Smedley, Planning Commissioner Mindy Lyle, and land use attorney Cathy Puskar (on right) at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard, Nov. 15, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)
Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks and AEDP President and CEO Stephanie Landrum at the groundbreaking for Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard, (Nov. 15, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)
It wasn’t so much a groundbreaking as it was a wall-breaking, as local dignitaries smashed their way to a new future at the new Inova Oakville at Potomac Yard on Monday (Nov. 15).
After years of development, construction officially began on the $300 million project at the corner of Swann Avenue and Richmond Highway — just down from National Landing and the Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus. The project and includes more than 1 million square feet of residential space dedicated to apartments, a new 93,000-square-foot Inova HealthPlex with a comprehensive emergency room and 55,000 square feet of retail. The facility is planned to open in fall 2023.
“This is an exciting day for our city,” Mayor Justin Wilson said at the event. “Congratulations to everyone who made this happen. We look forward to continuing to partner with Inova long into the future to expand world-class health care services in our community.”
The hospital facility will offer emergency room services, an outpatient care center and medical offices.
“The new facility represents one more way that we show our commitment to all people in our communities,” said Inova Hospital System President and CEO J. Stephen Jones. “It offers a gateway for communities that we have not traditionally served to the level that we know that we can.”
Douglas M. Firstenberg, principal at Stonebridge, which is developing the property, said that the mixed uses at the property will set it apart.
“This is really a vision of the future, the way we’re integrating the HealthPlex and the services for the daily needs and lives of the community are truly different,” Firstenberg said.
Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.
