South Carlin Springs Road Site to be Part of Virginia Hospital Center
Published on July 19, 2017
The Arlington County Board voted early Wednesday to notify Virginia Hospital Center that the County intends to acquire the hospital's property at 601 S. Carlin Springs Road as part of the purchase price for the County-owned Edison Center on George Mason Drive.
The Board's vote came after the Joint Facilities Advisory Commission (JFAC) recommended in June that the County acquire the 11.57-acre South Carlin Springs Road property for as-yet-to-be-determined public purposes.
"The Board's decision today came after an extensive public process led by JFAC that carefully examined our options," County Board Chair Jay Fisette said. "As we have said many times, our County faces critical decisions on both acquiring land and deciding how to use it. The South Carlin Springs Road site will now be factored into those decisions."
The Board voted 5-0 to elect to acquire the South Carlin Springs Road property, should Virginia Hospital Center exercise its option to buy the County's 1800 N. Edison St. property. To read the staff report, visit the County website. Scroll down to Item No. 54 on the Agenda for the July 18, 2017 Recessed County Board Meeting.
The Board's December 2015 agreement with Virginia Hospital Center gave the hospital the option to acquire the Edison Center for the hospital's planned expansion of its facilities. The hospital would pay either $12.56 million or, if higher, the fair market value of the property at the time the hospital exercises its option. The County has the option to request one or more of five hospital-owned properties, including the South Carlin Springs Road site, for all or part of the purchase price.
In November 2016, the County Board, together with Arlington Public Schools Board, created the JFAC as an advisory body to make recommendations to both Boards on capital facilities needs assessment, capital improvement plans and long-range facility planning. JFAC's immediate task was to evaluate potential uses for the Buck site on North Quincy Street, which the County has an option to purchase, and the South Carlin Springs Road site.
Through an extensive public process, JFAC determined that the community strongly endorses the idea of acquiring land for public facilities and, in its Phase 2 Status Report to the County Board, recommended that the County acquire both the South Carlin Springs Road and Buck sites. The Phase 2 Status Report recommended scenarios for potential County and APS use of both the Buck and South Carlin Springs Road sites.
Learn more about the JFAC process, including opportunities to engage.