The structure at the corner of Lansdowne Boulevard and Riverside Parkway in Leesburg may take another shape as early as March. Loudoun Hospital Center received the go-ahead from the Planning Commission Monday to build an addition to its building in the Broad Run District.
"This is a needed expansion that will greatly improve the quality of service at the hospital," said Planning Commissioner Robert Klancher (Broad Run). He said the hospital met all of the conditions required by staff to get the permit. The Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday, approving the special-exception application 8-0-1, with Supervisor Sally Kurtz (Catoctin) absent.
Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) said it is not unusual for special-exception applications to be turned over so quickly. Waters said she was not aware of a rush to get the application approved. Supervisors Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) and Bruce Tulloch (R-Potomac) also said they were not aware of any rush to get the application approved, even though it was slated for a public hearing before the Supervisors one day after it was on the Planning Commission's agenda. Tulloch said he will vote for the application to be approved.
"We gotta be under construction in the spring," said William Keefe, land-use planner with Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley, Emrich and Terpak, representing Loudoun Hospital Center in front of the Planning Commission. He said the hospital hopes the new addition will be in service by the beginning of the 2006 flu season. In order to do so, construction must begin by March.
THE 78,000-SQUARE-FOOT expansion is made up of two parts. The first is a 73,000-square-foot, four-story building, connected to the existing building via a corridor. The second floor is dedicated to the Intensive Care Unit of 12 beds and other ICU equipment. The first and third floors are currently shell space and will eventually be hospital use. The fourth floor is a mechanical penthouse, housing the air-conditioning system among other things. The remaining 5,000 square feet are set aside for enlarging the cafeteria and make up the second part of the expansion. The area for the proposed four-story building is currently used for parking and the area for the enlarged cafeteria expansion is currently open space. LHC is planning on building a parking garage in the future to provide sufficient parking for the expansion.
Keefe said the application received all of the necessary state permits and has submitted the site plan to the county. It now requires a Board of Supervisors vote, and site plan approval and building permits from the county to start the construction of the new addition.
The Planning Commission voted 7-0-2, with Commissioners John Herbert (Catoctin) and chairman Lawrence Beerman (Dulles) absent, to recommend the approval of the application to the Board of Supervisors. Klancher said he is excited about the possibility of the expansion and he was glad to see the application back on the agenda after it was taken off of it two months ago.
OTHER ITEMS at the Planning Commission public hearing.
* The Planning Commission voted 7-1-1 to recommend approval of revising the land use from business to residential, to build the Stonegate Property, a 198-dwelling units community. A Loudoun County resident raised concerns the property was too close to high-voltage wires and dangerous for the well-being of the children who would live in the units.
* The Planning Commission decided to further review an application for development of 47 townhouses, known as Station View, at the intersection of Old Ryan Road and Croson Lane in the Dulles District.
* The Planning Commission decided to further review an application for development of eight houses at the Wright Property on Poland Road between its intersections with Edgewater Street and Mountcastle Drive in the Dulles District.
* The Planning Commission decided to further review an application for development of 1,112 dwelling units known as Seven Hills, located at the corner of Braddock Road and Gum Spring Road in the Dulles District. Sam Adamo, director of planning and legislative services with the Loudoun County Public Schools, said he hopes the application is accepted because the applicant promised to build an elementary school on the site.