Inova at Landmark project unanimously approved by Alexandria City Council

The 1.1 million-square-foot Inova at Landmark project got unanimous approval by the Alexandria City Council on Saturday, giving the hospital system the green light to build the future home of Alexandria Hospital.

Inova wants to start construction on the former Landmark Mall site in 2024 and have the four-building hospital campus finished by 2028. The hospital building is designed to face I-395, making it a gateway for drivers traveling north.

After years of stagnation, Alexandria started working with Inova on the site about three years ago — while the City was starting to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“To be at this point at this time is really transformational, and this is a big deal,” Mayor Justin Wilson said. “I do think this is really important and it’s gonna be really a gateway for our community for a long time to come.”

Inova at Landmark includes a 569,000 square-foot hospital center, a 111,000 square-foot cancer center, an 83,000 square-foot specialty care center and a retrofitted 550-space parking garage. A 1,488-space below-grade parking garage is also planned with at least 19 parking spaces set aside for electric vehicle charging.

“It is our duty to ensure that our new hospital is not only a state-of-the-art facility, but also a place where compassion, excellence, and innovation come together to provide the best possible care for our community” said J. Stephen Jones, president and CEO of Inova in a statement. “We are thrilled with Council’s action and are excited to make this vision come to life.”

Inova can build up to 250 feet, or 23 stories, for the tallest structures, the main hospital building and the cancer center, although the latter is proposed to be only 77 feet tall.

Inova currently plans to build a 184-foot tall main hospital building (nearly 17 stories) with a two story glass atrium at its entrance, above which would be a six-story Z-shaped inpatient tower. Inova anticipates that the building will be 184 feet tall to hide hospital mechanical equipment inside a “mechanical penthouse.”

“As one of the individuals who was born in the now soon-to-be old Alexandria Hospital, I look forward to having new generations of Alexandrians have quality care and to be born in a state-of-the-art facility,” said City Council Member John Taylor Chapman.

Each building will be constructed under LEED Silver guidelines. According to a city staff report:

The campus buildings will feature window glazing and building design to minimize heat gains, low-flow faucets and fixtures, high indoor environmental air quality, and will participate in Dominion’s Renewable Power Program with a goal to achieve a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030.

Inova will also dedicate 64,000 square feet to open space on the site, in addition to building a 14,810-square-foot central plaza in Block Q. Inova must also submit a “consolidated and coordinated” public art plan for the hospital campus.

Landmark Mall first opened in 1965, and was the first mall in the region to feature three anchor department stores (Sears, Woodward & Lothrop, and Hecht’s). By 2010, the mall had nearly no tenants and in 2021, the city bought the 11-acre parcel of land for $54 million from The Howard Hughes Corporation. Inova signed a 99-year ground lease for the property that same year.

Stephanie Landrum, president and CEO of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, said that the project makes Inova Alexandria Hospital an anchor that “redefines one of our largest neighborhoods and is a tangible and visible signal of the strength of the Alexandria economy.”

“This helps us attract additional investments, employers, and residents that will bring the WestEnd project to life,” Landrum said.

The project takes up a fifth of the total land use on the 52-acre West End Alexandria development. It was designed by Ballinger and Ennead Architects and is managed by Inova.

City Council is back for our March Public Hearing.

Today we are considering the final approval of our new Alexandria Hospital at the site of the former Landmark Mall. pic.twitter.com/voMQXaEt4j

— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) March 18, 2023