Graham Center’s days may be numbered.
The 61-year-old retail strip in West Falls Church has been targeted by the not-for-profit health system VHC Health for a future emergency department and urgent care center, according to a special exception application recently submitted to Fairfax County.
“This innovative hybrid model of a Freestanding Emergency Department combined with an Urgent Care Center (the ‘FSED-UCC’) will offer convenient and timely access for emergency patients, many of the Applicant’s scheduled outpatients, and the general public,” Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh attorney Kathryn Taylor wrote in a statement of justification for VHC Health.
Built in 1953, Graham Center was anchored for decades by Harvest Moon, a Chinese restaurant and banquet hall that became popular for wedding receptions after it opened in the mid-1980s. However, the restaurant closed permanently during the pandemic, leaving behind a mix of small shops, including eateries, a nail salon, a shoe repair outlet and a Vietnamese supermarket.
County property records show that VHC Health bought the 105,698-square-foot site at 7234 Arlington Blvd for $2.4 million in July 2023. The future of the still-operating tenants remains to be determined, but VHC Health’s application says the one-story retail building will be demolished.
VHC Health Vice President of Real Estate Acquisition and Development Adrian Stanton said in a statement to FFXnow that the organization has “maintained open and continuous communication with the tenants about plans for the site” since it purchased the property.
VHC Health chose the Graham Center location because we saw a need in the surrounding community for an important and currently unavailable care option — emergency department services co-located with urgent care services. VHC Health prides itself on offering convenient healthcare options in the communities where our patients live and work…Given the current condition of the property, the plan includes redevelopment as part of the County review and approval process. While we wait for approval from the County, we are still working to determine what other healthcare services and business development opportunities will be offered that will benefit the community most.
According to the Feb. 16 application, which was first reported by Annandale Today, the retail strip will be replaced by an approximately 24,250-square-foot, 40-foot-tall medical facility. About 14,000 square feet will be devoted to the emergency department and urgent care center, while the rest will house primary care, specialty and diagnostic imaging services.
The proposal continues VHC Health’s recent push to expand beyond its main hospital in Arlington with more community-oriented sites around Northern Virginia.
“The primary purpose of the proposed facility will be to decompress high emergency department utilization on the nearby Virginia Hospital Center campus and provide the surrounding community with an important and currently unavailable care option,” the application says. “In addition, the medical services of the FSED-UCC will be provided at a fraction of the cost for services typically furnished at conventional emergency departments or hospitals.”
A special exception is needed to allow the facility in a commercial district that limits office uses to 25% of the lot. The facility is categorized as an “office” under the county’s zoning ordinance because it won’t support overnight stays or regular ambulance usage, according to Taylor.
As part of the redevelopment, VHC Health has offered to eliminate access points to the property except for a northeastern entrance along Graham Road and a southwestern entrance along Arlington Blvd, which will be upgraded with crosswalks and ADA-compliant curb ramps. Read More
The community has kept VHC Health’s primary care office in West Springfield busy since it opened last June.
Officially welcomed by Fairfax County leaders with a ribbon-cutting and open house on Jan. 31, the practice at 5803 Rolling Road, Suite 110, started with one physician but added a second in October to meet the demand for services, according to Darryl Ernst, the senior vice president of VHC Health Physicians.
He says the nonprofit health system anticipates adding two more physicians into 2025, bringing the office up to VHC’s typical primary care staffing levels. With each physician usually seeing up to 2,500 patients annually, the West Springfield practice could ultimately care for as many as 10,000 to 12,000 patients.
“The office itself has gotten busy fairly quickly,” Ernst told FFXnow. “That’s been very encouraging for us because I think it reinforces why we’ve been asked to come and provide care in that community.”
Located in a brick office building south of the Kings Park neighborhood, VHC Health’s West Springfield facility provides primary care services to people 18 and older, including physical exams, wellness visits and other preventative care, lab testing and chronic disease management. Same-day urgent appointments and telehealth visits are available.
The practice may expand in the future to also offer cardiology services, but a definite decision on that hasn’t been made yet, Ernst says.
Decisions about what services to offer where are driven by community need and possible gaps in a given neighborhood’s health care network, according to Ernest, who says a lot of patients who get cardiology services at VHC Health’s hospital in Arlington live or work in the West Springfield area.
“We want to be in communities that don’t have many providers in a certain specialty,” he said. “So, we believe cardiology is the need in that community, and so, that’s one of the reasons we would do it, in essence, because there’s not the kind of access that we think it should exist for cardiology services.”
The West Springfield practice was among several new VHC Health facilities to pop up in Fairfax County over the past couple of years. Rebranding from Virginia Hospital Center, the nonprofit now also has facilities in Annandale, Tysons, McLean, Vienna and Kingstowne.
A digestive health center that focuses exclusively on gastrointestinal issues also opened this past Tuesday (Feb. 13) at 3025 Hamaker Court in Merrifield.
Ernst says VHC Health has been “very intentional” with its expansion into Fairfax County, which was in the works before the COVID-19 pandemic but got temporarily slowed down as medical providers pivoted to virtual services.
In addition to seeking to give its existing patients a more convenient option, the nonprofit has gotten a “tremendous amount” of outreach from elected officials and business leaders requesting facilities in different parts of the county, including West Springfield, according to Ernst.
Though VHC’s offices have been concentrated in the eastern part of the county so far, it’s developing plans to expand to the western side. Ernst says they’re not at a stage yet where he can disclose specific details, but the focus will likely be around Fairfax City and its surrounding areas.
“We think [our facilities are] special, and we just really want them to be a resource for the community and for the residents,” Ernst said.
VHC Health is making a big push to bring its health care services closer to Fairfax County residents.
With a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Wednesday (Aug. 9), the health system introduced its new Vienna practice to the community as part of a building-wide open house at 527 Maple Avenue, which also recently welcomed the gym Advanced Fitness & Sports Performance.
At its 4,000-square-foot office, VHC Health Physicians offers primary care services for patients 6 and older as well as OB-GYN services for patients 14 and older. The practice is currently staffed with two primary care physicians, an obstetrician and three advanced OB-GYN practice providers.
“In our office in Vienna, we’re really excited about being in such a great community,” VHC Health President and CEO Chris Lane said. “We had a great open house…where a lot of community members came out and really thanked us for providing this option and this choice for them to be able to access the great care from VHC.”
Formerly known as Virginia Hospital Center, VHC Health rebranded last year in conjunction with plans to expand both within and outside of its flagship hospital in Arlington.
In less than two years, the nonprofit has opened clinical offices in Annandale, Tysons, West Springfield and Kingstowne on top of the Vienna practice. Opened in June, the Kingstowne office served as an multi-specialty replacement for a Hybla Valley office that permanently closed.
The services available at each location vary. For instance, the Tysons office at 1760 Old Meadow Road, Suite 305, has specialists in cardiology, gastroenterology and urology, along with primary care and OB-GYN practitioners.
Lane says the recent expansion reflects an evolving focus in VHC Health on preventative care and a desire to bring that care out into the community “where people work and people live.” The health system has also strengthened its telemedicine services in response to the pandemic.
“Our differentiator is we want to be able to provide that care out to the community,” Lane said. “Patients want a choice, and they want to have the ability to choose where they go and have an option, and VHC is a great option for people to receive that care right near their home.”
When looking for potential office locations, VHC Health considers the area’s demographics and what kinds of health care services are already available, Lane says.
To that end, the nonprofit is already working on another local office, this time in Merrifield. The facility at 3025 Hamaker Court will provide surgical services, something that VHC doesn’t yet offer in Fairfax County.
Construction is underway on the practice, which will be in a medical office-heavy area between the Mosaic District and the Inova Fairfax Hospital campus. The work is on track to finish this year, likely in the fourth quarter between October and December, according to Lane.
While other specific locations haven’t been identified yet, Lane says VHC Health plans to continue expanding. After an attendee at Wednesday’s open house in Vienna suggested an office in Reston, perhaps a site west of Route 123 could be next.
“People speak to us, they want the VHC brand and they want the VHC great quality of care in their community, so it’s something we obviously would have to consider,” Lane said.
