Everything you need to know about the new Kaiser South medical hub coming to Woodbridge

The following letter was sent from Lake Ridge-Occoquan-Coles Civic Association to Tim Hudgins, project manager, Kaiser Permanente? Facility Services in Hyattsville, Md. 

Kaiser broke ground last week on a new five-story medical facility that will be considered the organization’s southern hub of operations.  

Dear Mr. Hudgins:

RE: Courtesy Review of Kaiser Permanente’s South Northern Virginia Medical Hub Facility to be located at 13285 Minneville Road

Thank you for your Kaiser Permanente (KP) team presentation on May 22, 2019, at the Lake Ridge Fellowship House at Tackett’s Mill. The meeting was very well attended by the community, and the discussion was very engaging. We appreciate the open, candid discussion and educational interchange that took place, and found it helpful to educate and inform the participants. We understand that the KP facility will have no hospital beds, is not an emergency room, and is a clinical service unit focusing on wellness and prevention. We look forward to your facility and services becoming a part of the fabric of our community.

This letter serves as a record of the Courtesy Review discussions that took place in accordance with the modified proffered courtesy review to support the construction of a specialty care medical center campus along Minneville Road and Caton Hill Road. As you indicated during the May 22, 2019 meeting, you anticipate briefing us soon as plans gel on final site plan and architectural selections for your medical center campus. The material below summarizes the dialog that took place and offers suggestions for you to consider as a part of the Courtesy Review process. The enclosures are provided for reference as necessary.

SITE HIGHLIGHTS:

The KP site has approximately 14 acres, with about 10.4 usable acres for the overall campus. The facility will house buildings that will contain approximately 250,000 sq. ft of medical center buildings and will strive for LEED silver certification for this medical center campus. It will have a combination of ground-level parking (mainly for employees) and structured parking (mainly for patients and some employees), as well as publicly accessible health park for use by patients, families, and community members.

The Minneville Road Entrance/Exit will be mainly for patients and will lead directly to a structured parking garage, while the existing Caton Hill Road Entrance/Exit will be mainly for employees and lead to ground-level parking. We understand that the facility will have no hospital beds but will have a wide range of medical health care services focusing on wellness, health care, and preventive care.

The facility will provide a wide range of health care services (more than 50), including adult and pediatric care, women’s health services and pharmacy, as well as a laboratory, optometry, and outpatient surgery. We were informed that the facility is also planned for virtual visit technology, and will also include a state-of-the-art MRI suite, consult rooms, provide support one-on-one counseling and have care advice for families and individuals. We were pleased to see that you plan to have a publicly accessible health-focused park for use by patients, families and community members, which will be pedestrian-friendly and generously landscaped.

DESIGN GUIDELINES:

We appreciate that KP has incorporated design guidelines as a part of your revised proffer package for this facility. LOCCA and its PELT Committee fully support KP efforts to develop design guidelines for both interior and exterior elements of your medical center campus.

We appreciate from the presentation that KP has focused on people and user- friendly interior and exterior design elements. LOCCA’s PELT committee in the November 13, 2018 meeting with KP asked for exterior design elements to reflect the surrounding area development and to incorporate brick or “brick-like” design elements and features wherever possible to harmonize with the upgrades present in the surrounding area developments. Examples of upgrades in the area developments were included in the November 13, 2018 agenda, as well in the form of LOCCA letters on specific developments in the area.

AMBULANCE USE:

While this site is not for emergency care, there will be an ambulance drop off area, and there may be an occasion that ambulance traffic will enter the facility. This use is envisioned as being primarily for pickup of patients needing emergency care that need to be transported to other facilities, as well as for some patients, such as elderly and infirmed patients needing to have patient transport vehicles bringing them to and from the facility for medical diagnosis and medical examination, one-on-one care advice, and out-patient surgery procedures.

TRAFFIC COUNTS/TRAFFIC LIGHTS:

It is our understanding that when fully built out, the traffic counts are estimated to be around 7,000 trips per day, which is significantly less had the center been developed as a commercial and office mixed-use project as originally envisioned. Concern was expressed by the participants that there is a strong desire to have all traffic lights fully operational when the facility is opened.

We wish to recognize and applaud your proffer commitments to include installation of traffic signals at the main site entrances along Minneville Road and Caton Hill Road, as well as right turn lanes and stacking lanes at each entrance along Minneville Road and Caton Hill Road.

TRAFFIC SAFETY:

Concern was expressed for traffic entry & exit at the intersection of Fowke Lane onto Minneville Road with the new KP facility on Minneville Road. Some of the residents from Longwood Estates were very vocal and insistent on this point and thought that installation of a traffic light at Fowke lane and Minneville Road is necessary. However, in the ensuing conversations that took place and in subsequent review, it was recognized by many participants that the existing traffic light at Minneville Road and Caton Hill Road and the new light to be installed at the KP Minneville Road entrance can be timed and sequenced to allow for ease of entry and exit at Fowke Lane, since it is located between both lights.

INTERNAL TRAFFIC SAFETY:

It was suggested that you consider the use of speed humps instead of speed bumps as well as signage, cautionary lighting (blinking) in the parking garage to encourage safe movement in this space. Also, you may wish to have modest speed humps or signage strategically located throughout the campus for pedestrian safety and pedestrian handicapped areas.

Pedestrian crossing signs and cross-hatched markings will also be helpful both internal to the garage and the outside areas.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY:

Consider pedestrian-friendly crosswalks and pedestrian-activated safety features, especially with the adjoining commercial and residential use at Madison Farms, Holly Acres Boat & RV, Twin Oaks Farm, and the adjacent Preserve at Caton’s Crossing.

BUS SHELTERS:

We were advised that KP is revising and enhancing various other proffer commitments related to bus shelters along Minneville Road and Caton Hill Road to achieve a commuter-friendly design within the community. This is very much appreciated by the community.

FARMERS MARKET:

You plan to allocate space to allow for a Farmers Market on site, and we applaud you for this initiative. There currently is a farmer’s market one day a week (on Tuesday) at Tackett’s Mill, but this area will be excellent for another site on another day for this sort of green community-based and health and wellness-focused activity.

SMART GREEN DESIGN:

We appreciate that you intend to introduce green roofs where it makes sense, such as a 2nd-floor roof meadow, a 2nd-floor clinic and roof meadow, and a 3rd-floor clinic garden and a roof meadow garden. We applaud you for this and look forward to hearing an update on this item at our next meeting as more details become available for discussion.

PARKING: STRUCTURED PARKING GARAGE:

The planned structured parking facility will be 5/6 stories high, depending on the approach and is planned to hold approximately 850 vehicles. We applaud your significant investment in structured parking for your facility and believe that this is a cost-effective approach to meeting your long-term parking needs.

LOCCA’s PELT Committee in the November 13, 2018 meeting had suggested that you consider incorporating green elements on the exterior walls of the structured parking garage. The structured parking garage at Washington, D.C. Reagan [National] Airport was cited as an example of one form of green design to consider for your planned structured parking facility.

In the May 22, 2019, LOCCA PELT Committee/Community Courtesy Review meeting, KP staff advised that they had looked at the Reagan International Airport structured parking garage, which recesses each upper level to provide sun exposure for the planter boxes, and you advised us that this tiered setback design will away take too much parking space on the upper levels and therefore would not be pursued. In the dialogue that took place on May 22, 2019, you cited studies that show that patients psychologically are adversely affected by plants that die off or whither or become quiescent in the winter months and that you want to avoid any physical plant scenario that might also contribute to patients becoming depressed.

We recognize that quiescent, dead, dying or wilted plants may be something you wish to avoid, but still there is the challenge of greening up the parking structure, both to be environmentally focused, and secondly to provide a pleasant visual break to such a large structure.

We think it might be helpful to have enough green space to allow incorporating ground-level plantings around the base of the garage, as well as to consider having the top level with over-hanging planters to green up part of the structure. Perhaps a green wall in the middle level of the garage might also be possible.

You explained that each level will have latticework to allow airflow and to disperse pollutants from the vehicles. Latticework may be ideal as an attachment surface for certain vine plantings at strategic locations. It would green up the exterior, not take up horizontal space that can be used for parking and allow continuous airflow on each level of the garage.

We would like to encourage you to pursue some alternative designs to provide for greenery on the structured parking garage. If done properly, we believe that it would send a message of energy efficiency, greenery and wellness as a part of the overall campus design features.

This may be an item to discuss further with our Prince William County Arborist, Ms. Julia Flanagan. We would like to have some near-future discussion of this item so we might go to closure on this topic with a satisfactory conclusion for all parties.

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT:

KP submitted early site work for stormwater retention. You plan to use the existing on-site SWM pond system, and we agree that this is the best alternative for stormwater management, which is “off-site” from your specific medical campus development area. We understand and applaud your intentions to incorporate bioswales, rain gardens and other Best Management Practices (BMPs) for enhancing stormwater retention on-site as part of your overall SWM system, and we commend you for incorporating the use of BMPs for SWM wherever possible and practical.

SITE SECURITY:

Will have 24/7 security on site. This was greeted with much support and acceptance by all the participants.

LIGHTING:

Suggest that the free-standing lighting should incorporate shielded shoe-box design to prevent light pollution but should be energy-saving LED lighting.

Building-mounted lighting, if used, should be shielded so as not to distract from the motoring public roadways. Interior lighting in the parking garage and elsewhere on the campus needs a thoughtful design for efficiency, as well as patient wellness.

LANDSCAPING FEATURES — STREETSCAPE:

LOCCA’s PELT Committee recommended consideration of boulevard plantings along Minneville Road and Caton Hill Road to compliment the HCOD plantings requirement on these major streetscape areas. It was suggested that consideration be given to use Willow Oaks as a landscaping streetscape tree, because it is an indigenous species, has low leaf litter and no acorns.

LANDSCAPING FEATURES — TREE PRESERVATION:

We applaud KP for bringing forward a Forest Protection Plan. As we understand from your presentation, every tree on-site which over 6-inch caliper will be/is documented. We applaud your plan to preserve the existing wooded forest buffer and will augment the existing forest buffer with new indigenous plantings to supplement the forested areas. Some of the trees to be planted include holly, poplars, red maple, etc.

LANDSCAPING FEATURES: MEDITATIVE GARDEN AND “FOREST BATHING” AREA:

We were pleased to hear that you plan to incorporate a meditative garden area and that you are also planning to create the ambiance of a Japanese “Forest Bathing” area.

LANDSCAPING FEATURES — ON-SITE PLANTINGS:

The internal landscaping will feature 3 ft high berms, or bioswales, and that you plan to use native plant materials that are drought tolerant. You plan to maintain an upland low meadow area on a portion of your site, which will have mixed vegetation, but this area will only be about 2 feet high and will incorporate a mix of native plantings

TRAIL SYSTEM: The pedestrian trails will be incorporated into the internal park system and will be 6 feet wide. The walking path should consider a heart-healthy/fitness exercise trail. Consider a handicapped course for wheelchair-bound patients within the KP health park.

We were advised that the Health Park trail will be stabilized stone and gravel.

EXERCISE AREAS:

We were advised that the exercise area stations will have gravel and/or rubber in the base material.

TRASH RECEPTICALS & DOG BAG STATIONS:

Participants suggested to locate trash receptacles and dog bag stations along the walking areas. The dog bag stations are used in the Lake Ridge area with very good success. BENCHES: Consider incorporating benches in the park-like setting internal to the site.

BIKE RACKS:

It was suggested to consider installing bike racks, mostly in the garage, but some on campus.

MONUMENT SIGNAGE: LOCCA/PELT recommended to have a monument design of front entrance signage with showpiece landscaping. You may also wish to have an additional monument sign of similar design at the Caton Hill Road entrance area.

DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE:

Directional signage should be modest and designed to complement the planned park-like setting. Consider the use of off-white, cream or beige soft- tone colors for the faceplate, and not pure white. Alternatively, consider a dark faceplate with off-white, beige or cream-colored lettering and low-intensity ballast to improve readability

CONSTRUCTION DUST:

Concern was expressed to be attentive to consider minimizing construction dust by incorporating dust abatement measures, such as watering down the site for dust suppression, which is already required by County code. There was concern expressed at the May 22, 2019 meeting for dust migration onto the adjacent Preserve at Caton’s Ridge, as well as from the Holly Acres RV’s Boats & Trailers across Minneville Road and who would be responsible for washing off dust from being deposited on the boats and RVs which are on the other side of Minneville Road.

CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE:

It is our understanding that early site work is planned to start this summer 2019, and that the grading permit is planned to be approved sometime in June. Construction site grading is likely to start in late June/July timeframe and into the fall months.

Foundation work is planned to begin in late August, and steel erection is planned to begin in late December 2019. The roof enclosure should be occurring sometime around April 2020.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE TACKETT’S MILL COMMUNITY PARK:

We applaud your financial support for the future community park at Tackett’s Mill, and for considering design and construction of the path from the KP medical center campus to the Tackett’s Mill Park site [at the corner of Minnieville and Harbor Drive].

We also applaud your support of a plan for pedestrian connectivity toward the Tackett’s Mill Community Park and the KP medical campus. This is very generous of you as a corporate citizen, and we wish to make note of this positive commitment by KP toward overall wellness of the community.

We sincerely welcome you to this new area of Prince William County within the Occoquan Magisterial District. You have been a contributing community member for many years at the KP Potomac Mills area off Smoketown Road.

We understand that you may keep both facilities open. In any case, we appreciate that you are located within the Occoquan Magisterial District for both facilities and are an active and contributing member to the health and vitality of our business and residential community.

We look forward to engaging further when you have additional information to share. If the opportunity presents itself, we would like to discuss revised/updated details on architecture, signage, lighting, landscaping as well as overall site plan before you present the final submission to Prince William County, and look forward to a quick turn-around on communicating back to you and the county on closure.