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Bon Secours seeks expansion, new building planned for Church Hill

From a Bon Secours press release:

Bon Secours Richmond Health System today initiated plans for expansion of Richmond Community Hospital in the East End, at a planning session with invited members of the City of Richmond, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) and other East End community partners. The planning session is designed to foster conversation around construction of a medical office building (MOB), which will expand the hospital’s footprint in Church Hill North, and proposed services aimed at enhancing health care to residents.

The expansion furthers the health system’s continued leadership in the East End Transformation Plan, established by Bon Secours in 2010 after a weeklong charrette, to create a sustainable, engaged and healthy East End community. The new MOB also is a result of the economic development package established between Bon Secours, the City of Richmond and the Richmond Economic Development Authority to build the Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center along Leigh Street.

“This long-planned medical office building is part of the master plan for Richmond Community Hospital,” said Peter J. Bernard, CEO, Bon Secours Virginia Health System. “The Redskins initiative has helped move a needed community resource into development. We are thrilled for residents and grateful to so many community partners who are helping to implement our vision for the East End.”

Led by Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ), the firm that led the 2010 East End charrette and a leading proponent of New Urbanism, today’s event engaged participants in proposed services to be located in the new MOB, including women’s health, health and wellness, pediatrics, internal medicine and imaging, as well as space for community services or retail. Session leaders also presented several proposed locations under consideration for the MOB. The locations are within a four-block radius along the Nine Mile Road corridor and adjacent to the hospital campus, including 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th Streets in Church Hill.

“Richmond Community Hospital understands that access to better jobs, better housing and better health care can bring significant benefits to this community,” said Michael Robinson, CEO, Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center and Richmond Community Hospital. “Today marks a significant step in the further revitalization of a community that we call ‘home.’”

Focused on the city’s Nine Mile Road and 25th Street corridor, the East End Transformation Plan is designed to make the areas more desirable for residents, businesses and the community as a whole. In 2011, Bon Secours established the Supporting East End Entrepreneurship Development (SEED) program; to date, the health system has committed $150,000 in renewable funding to business start-ups ranging from bakeries and restaurants, to retailers and a trash disposal service. These SEED businesses have become valuable assets to this community.

Through a partnership with Project Homes, Bon Secours has transformed vacant and blighted properties adjacent to the hospital campus into homes. Bon Secours reaches uninsured adults and children through the Care-A-Van program, the health system’s mobile health program. The health system also has established a wellness center at Creighton Court and supports the Tricycle Gardens farm stand of local produce in Church Hill.

“Nine Mile Road and the 25th Street corridor are now flourishing with new businesses, renovated housing and new health and wellness programs,” said Robinson. “We are pleased to see our continued revitalization efforts helping the East End to become a desirable place to visit, live and work.”

Located in historic Church Hill North, Richmond Community Hospital is a 104-bed hospital providing emergency services, general surgery, behavioral health and outpatient services to residents in the East End and eastern Henrico County. The hospital employs more than 300 people and includes an existing medical office building. Once completed, the hospital’s new MOB will add 75 high-quality medical jobs to the hospital’s employment.

Information on revitalization efforts by Bon Secours and community partners, as well as the East End Transformation Plan, can be found at www.eastendvision.org.