The owner and operator of a McLean nursing home built in the Baby Boomer era wants to give its residents more space with a proposed expansion.
Modalia Capital is seeking to build a new wing for its Vierra Falls Church community at 2100 Powhatan Street, according to a rezoning application submitted to Fairfax County on June 28. The 11,869-square-foot, one-story addition would add 18 private units but no new residents.
The expansion will “accommodate a growing demand among its current residents for increased privacy and to improve the general quality of life for” the nursing home’s occupants, Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh land use lawyer Kathryn Taylor wrote in a statement of justification.
Formerly known as Powhatan Nursing Home, the 60,308-square-foot facility was built in 1965 with 93 beds, expanding to 160 beds with an addition in 1972.
Modalia, a Bethesda-based real estate investment firm, bought and renamed the building in 2021 as part of its Vierra Communities brand, which also operates the Carriage Hill Bethesda nursing home in Maryland.
Vierra Falls Church provides both short-term and long-term care, including rehabilitation programs, hospice, physical and occupational therapy, and medical support.
“Since the purchase of the Subject Property, the Applicant, as an experienced operator of age-restricted housing, has successfully continued the nursing home use, offering valuable and beneficial services to the surrounding community,” the application says.
If approved, this would be the nursing home’s first expansion since Modalia took over, though the property owner has made “minor exterior and interior repairs” to the building. The company also added a crosswalk “to improve internal pedestrian circulation” and refreshed some plantings along the property’s southern lot line, Taylor wrote.
The additional wing will require the removal of some parking spaces, but 90 spots will still be provided. Since the number of residents won’t increase, no additional vehicle trips or employees are expected.
“Given that employees work on shifts and arrivals/departures are staggered, traffic does not adversely affect the surrounding residential neighborhood,” the application says, noting that the property typically gets about 15 to 20 visitors a day, but visitations tend to increase during the holidays.
The nursing home has about 120 employees with up to 50 of them on site at any given time, including nurses, aides, physical therapists, kitchen staff, maintenance workers and administrative staff.
As part of the expansion, the developer intends to enhance the screening buffers with shrubs and trees and to add an underground storage facility to meet the county’s stormwater management rules.
“The Applicant’s proposal will continue to provide much needed housing and services for seniors who live in Fairfax County,” Taylor wrote. “It will also allow seniors to continue to live in Fairfax County in proximity to family and friends. The existing nursing home has served and supported the community for almost 60 years and looks forward to continuing to do so for many years to come with the integration of this proposed building addition into its operations.”
The application hasn’t officially been accepted for review yet by Fairfax County’s Department of Planning and Development.
Screenshot via Google Maps
