The approval is an important step for the hospital, which approached the county in April with the land swap proposal for the 5.5-acre site, which is also known as the Edison Complex. It had become clear by that point that the hospital's operations had grown to the point that an expansion would be necessary. Now that it has the option to buy the land, VHC will begin work on a master plan to expand its North George Mason Drive campus.

A Very Long Process

Besides developing master plans, the hospital must also file a proposed Site Plan or Phased Development Site Plan. To state the obvious, the planning process will take several years. Both the county and state must give approval to the master plans and special exception site plans.

There will be public hearings and review by county staff and the community of, well, just about everything associated with the project from the design and architecture, to the signage and landscaping, the construction management and staging, and traffic and parking impacts on the affected streets.

The local community has voiced initial approval of the project with letters of support provided by local civic associations of Waycroft-Woodlawn Civic Association, Tara-Leeway Heights Civic Association, and the High View Park civic association.

With construction not likely to begin for years, the hospital will want to have a temporary use assigned for the land, assuming that it does buy it. That too will require consultation with the community and the usual county approval process.