Alexandria City Council approves Landmark project

The new Alexandria Hospital would be at the western end of the Landmark site.

The Alexandria City Council on July 6 unanimously approved the redevelopment agreements for a new hospital and mixed-use development on the site of the former Landmark Mall.

The site agreements will result in approximately 4 million square feet of new development, including the relocation and expansion of Inova’s Alexandria Hospital and medical office buildings. 

The redevelopment will be led by Foulger-Pratt. It will transform the 52-acre site into a mixed-use, walkable urban village. 

The project will include for-rent and for-sale multifamily residential units, retail, commercial space, entertainment opportunities, outdoor parks, a fire station, affordable housing, and a transit hub serving DASH, Metrobus.  and Alexandria’s proposed bus rapid transit network. The entire project is expected to result in a $2 billion investment. 

Construction at the site could begin as soon as 2023, with the first buildings delivered in 2025.

“This long-anticipated project will not only revitalize a currently vacant site many had given up on and provide significant new economic activity, but will also be a catalyst for redevelopment and enhancements throughout the West End of our city,” said Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson. 

Related story: Landmark redevelopment will include transportation fixes

“We are thrilled that the council’s action tonight officially paves the way for us to move forward with building a new state-of-the-art hospital and medical campus,” said Inova CEO J. Stephen Jones. 

The Landmark site will 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 will offer full cancer services, including radiation and infusion. 

The hospital will have one of only four Level II trauma centers in Northern Virginia, providing 24-hour specialty services for brain injuries, complex fractures, and other trauma care. 

The medical campus is expected to employ more than 2,000 healthcare workers. 

The Alexandria City Council approved the use of $54 million in public bond financing to allow the city to acquire the land for the hospital and lease it to Inova, as well as $86 million in public bond financing for site preparation and infrastructure at the Landmark site and adjacent Duke Street and Van Dorn Street corridors. 

These investments are expected to generate over $1 billion in tax revenue over the 30-year life of the bonds, which will cover the principal and interest on the bonds as well as contribute to public safety, schools, human services, transportation, environmental protection, and other expenditures in the city’s general fund.

The Landmark project was named the 2020 Real Estate Deal of the Year by the Washington Business Journal.