VHC Health has filed requests for land-use changes to support a new behavioral-health facility in Glencarlyn.
The submission, made Aug. 29, formally kicks off what could be a lengthy review process for a county-owned parcel at 601 S. Carlin Springs Road. The hospital organization is seeking to lease some of the 11.5 acres for the new structure.
The proposed three-story health facility would have 146 beds and be supported by approximately 110 employees and nine physicians, VHC Health officials said in filings.
It would total about 131,000 square feet of interior space, with a floor-area ratio of 0.45. That density is about half what is allowable under the existing zoning for the site.
“Given that the prior use of the property was an urgent-care center, the neighborhood is accustomed to medical uses at this location and the existing infrastructure will be sufficient for the proposed use,” hospital officials said in their filing. “The success of the prior use demonstrates that medical facilities in this location can operate without adverse impacts to the community.”
The next step in the process is “a completeness review by county staff,” said Adrian Stanton, a VHC Health vice president who is the public face of the hospital agency’s development efforts.
VHC Health is partnering with Tennessee-based Lifepoint Health on the project.
County Board Chair Takis Karantonis said the upcoming vetting process will be comprehensive in nature.
“In short, yes, of course I do expect the review process to be thorough as it always is with site plans of this nature, and that staff will work with the community to mitigate concerns that may arise,” he told ARLnow.
As for specifics of the project, Karantonis said he could not comment, in order “to respect the integrity of the pending review process.”
A spokesman for the advocacy group Arlingtonians for Responsible Land Use voiced concern over whether county leaders would truly listen to community input.
“Arlington for decades used to have a bottom-up, data- and information-based process of community engagement to make decisions, particularly in relation to public resources,” the organization said in a statement to ARLnow.
“This brought confidence to the community in the decision-making process and ensured decisions were well informed, allowing the community to support these outcomes,” the organization said, but feared a lack of transparency as this project moves forward.
It seems clear from this back room process to encumber public land for almost a century — at potentially large taxpayer expense without community-wide engagement — dictation-style governance continues along with erosion of confidence in that governance and the decisions that impact the community.
The proposed facility would include the following features.
Building design: The proposed facility will feature a “modern design, with the façade being comprised of high-quality materials, including brick and concrete,” hospital officials said.
“Floor-to-ceiling glass windows will front the northern façade to create an inviting main entrance and allow a substantial amount of natural light into the building,” they said.
Operating hours: The facility would operate 24/7. Visitor hours would be from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, and the facility would be staffed in three eight-hour daily shifts.
Zoning changes sought: Hospital facilities are permitted in the existing S-D zoning district. But in order to move forward with the project, VHC Health will need to win approval for a major site plan amendment. VHC Health also will require a use permit to operate the facility on a 24-hour basis.
There are no retail or residential uses planned.
Long-term lease: Initially, hospital and county officials had announced plans for the local government to sell 5.8 acres of the site to VHC Health. Stanton told ARLnow the plan now calls for the hospital organization to take a long-term lease on the parcel, with details to be hammered out during the development-review process.
Cost: In the lead-up to the submission, Stanton told the Washington Business Journal that the projected facility cost now stands at $160 million. That’s about double the estimate when the project was unveiled in early 2023.
Screening: The facility will be screened from adjacent properties by existing mature landscaping, officials said.
Parking: A total of 302 parking spaces as planned, with 237 in a single-level, below-grade parking garage and the remaining 65 in surface lots.
“This exceeds the 98 spaces required by the zoning ordinance but is, in the applicant’s extensive experience managing health-care facilities, necessary to serve the proposed use,” hospital officials said in their filing with county zoning administrator Arlova Vonhm.
Interior roadway: A new private interior road connecting the southern end of the facility to S. Carlin Springs Road is proposed.
“To improve site access, the applicant proposes a new left turn lane southbound on South Carlin Springs Road to prevent traffic from backing up onto the road,” the filing says. “This new connection and site access point will support vehicular circulation around the site and ensure traffic does not become congested at the signalized intersection.”
Steps in the process: After county staff deem the site-plan application complete, the county government has 90 days to formally review the submission. At that point, a site-plan review committee (SPRC) will be established to vet the project.
After completion of the SPRC process, which could take up to four months, the proposal will go to the Planning Commission for a recommendation and then County Board for action.
History: In the late 1970s, County Board members approved a site plan allowing for medical facilities, including a two-story, 143,000-square-foot “health pavilion” owned by VHC Health (then Arlington Hospital) and the five-story Northern Virginia Doctors Medical Hospital.
In 2019, the county government purchased the property from VHC Health. The health pavilion was demolished in 2024.
Neighborhood reaction: The Glencarlyn Civic Association, which has been monitoring the proposal since its inception, had no immediate comment on the filing, president Brandon Hemel told ARLnow.
In a letter sent to county leaders shortly prior to the formal submission, the civic association voiced concern about the proposed second entrance to the property on Carlin Springs.
The community “is firmly against an additional entryway/egress for vehicles,” noted the letter, sent to County Manager Mark Schwartz and other county staffers.
“Do we need to introduce an additional disruption into an area that we all have been working so hard to make safer for pedestrians and drivers?” Hemel said in the letter.
Completion: The county’s review process could take more than a year to complete on a project that already has fallen behind its anticipated timetable.
When VHC Health announced plans for the new facility in January 2023, it anticipated breaking ground in late 2023 or early 2024, with construction completed by late 2025.
