Doctors Hospital Aims to Break Ground in June

By Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Riverside hopes to break ground on its Doctors Hospital in Williamsburg on June 10, assuming its site plan is well-received by the city.

Riverside employees Steve McCary and Tracey Dowling shared an update of the long-planned project at Williamsburg’s Business Roundtable on Tuesday, hosted by the Economic Development Authority. The 380-acre development will ultimately include the hospital, commercial business, retail and residential development spanning the land between Harris Teeter on Route 199 and Route 60.

Riverside purchased the 380 acres to build the Quarterpath at Williamsburg development nearly seven years ago, but development has been delayed as the hospital has worked to demonstrate the need for its medical care in the area. The state health commissioner approved its Certificate of Need in May 2009.

The property will include the 27-acre Doctors Hospital campus, which will face Route 60. It also includes Redoubt Park, a public city park donated through proffers and a water tower to serve that corner of the city. Incomplete projects that were proffered include constructing the entry from Rt. 60 and finishing Redoubt Road and East-West Boulevard, both connecting different ends of the property.

In the course of the development planning process, the vision for Quarterpath at Williamsburg has changed to better fit the current economy and the increasing shift toward outpatient care. The development will focus less on retail and more on attracting commercial business, according to Dowling, the administrative director of real estate and business development for the project.

Also, the hospital will be built closer to Route 60 than initially planned, because the anticipated commercial development didn’t occur and the associated infrastructure hasn’t been constructed. Now, the hospital will lead the development.

Riverside has several facilities in the area, including a surgery center and diagnostic center at its King’s Way location, a radiation therapy center on Treyburn Drive, Patriot’s Colony retirement community, an Outpatient Rehabilitation Center and an Urgent Care location. Doctors Hospital will have 40 in-patient beds, a same-day surgery unit, a 24-hour emergency care center with 12 treatment rooms, a diagnostic center, a lifelong health center and plans to offer cardiac catheterization, pending state approval. The facility will be geared toward serving the health needs of baby boomers, McCary said, and noted the site plan leaves room for expansion should it become necessary.

The hospital will cost $65 million to bring on-line, including equipment costs, and will employ 200-300 people with a payroll of $10-15 million. A site plan was submitted to the city on Feb. 14 and is slated for Planning Commission review in May. Riverside hopes to break ground at 9 a.m. on June 10, and estimates construction will be complete by winter of 2012.