More details emerge on Landmark Mall redevelopment

The concept for redeveloping Landmark Mall.

Representatives of Inova, the City of Alexandria, and the Foulger-Pratt development company presented more details on the plans to create an urban village/medical complex at Landmark Mall at a community meeting Jan. 4. 

The plan calls for tearing down the mall and developing the 52-acre property with a new Inova Alexandria Hospital, housing, commercial development, and four acres of green space. The only existing structure to remain will be the parking garage.

The project would consist of 4 million square feet of development, including 1 million square feet for Inova. 

There would be up to 2,500 units of housing – a mix of market-rate, affordable, workforce, and senior housing with apartments, condos, and townhouses. 

A transit hub will serve Metrobus, Alexandria’s Dash bus system, and new bus rapid transit lines along the Beauregard and Route 236 corridors. The plan calls for increased connectivity to surrounding areas for pedestrians and cyclists. 

A new fire station serving Alexandria’s West End will be on the ground floor of an affordable-housing building. 

The concept for the Inova complex.

The vision for Landmark calls for creating “a gathering place for all,” said Brigg Bunker, managing partner and CEO of Foulger-Pratt. A central plaza would be open to the public, not just Landmark residents, and would offer active entertainment, such as live music and outdoor dining. 

Bunker acknowledged traffic is a big concern. He promised to make sure the traffic impact on the surrounding community would be minimized. The development will have five access points for vehicular traffic. 

Related story: Inova to relocate Alexandria Hospital to Landmark Mall site

The existing ramp from eastbound Duke Street to the Landmark site will be torn down. The long-term goal has been to “knit the Landmark site to the neighborhoods to the south, and the ramp was a barrier to that,” said Alexandria Planning Director Karl Moritz. 

The new hospital would replace the existing Inova Alexandria Hospital on Seminary Road, which is not a state-of-the-art institution, said Inova President and CEO Stephen Jones.  

The new world-class hospital would be a new model for integrated clinical care. Jones said. It would have built-in flexibility allowing Inova to respond to changing circumstances, such as a pandemic. 

The new hospital will have 230 all-private patient rooms in two seven-story towers. One of the towers will have a helipad on the roof.

The hospital will have a level 2 trauma center equipped to handle complex brain injuries; a comprehensive cancer center; and advanced services in cardiovascular, neurological, and ob-gyn medicine, said Rina Bansal, president of Alexandria Hospital. 

The Inova complex will include a new medical office building with space for about 50 physicians. There will be two levels of underground parking serving both the hospital and medical building. 

Related story: Alexandria celebrates “Wonder Woman 1984” – Landmark Mall never looked so good

Construction of the hospital is expected to start in 2023. Occupancy would begin in the first quarter of 2028. 

Bunker said he expects the proposal for the entire site to get through the City of Alexandria’s Coordinated Development District (CDD) planning process by June 2021. 

The CDD will set the basic parameters to guide the development of individual blocks and the new street grid, Moritz said. Those plans will be reviewed by a citizen advisory group. The revised proposal will take into account the extensive work already done by the Alexandria planning staff and input from community residents. 

Alexandria’s Eisenhower-West Landmark Van Dorn Advisory Group is scheduled to discuss the project at its Jan. 19 meeting. 

Moritz said the planners are in regular coordination with Fairfax County staff on transportation and other issues.

The City of Alexandria is proposing a $76 million investment in the project for site preparation, sewers, roads, and parks, said City Manager Mark Jinks. Those funds would be financed by bonds and will be repaid from the $778 million the project is expected to generate in tax revenues. 

Alexandria Hospital won’t close until the new hospital opens. When it does close, the land would be developed for housing and would thus become taxable. 

There have been discussions and plans for redeveloping Landmark Mall for more than 10 years, and nothing happened. As a result, “there might be some skepticism out there over this,” said Cameron Pratt, managing partner and CEO of Foulger-Pratt. “This time it’s different. Inova is making a very substantial investment in this site. Their commitment is real.” 

Before, the redevelopment of Landmark Mall depended on having a retail anchor, Pratt said. “Retail is struggling now. Inova filled the void retail left behind.”