IW approves hospital plan for access to Benn’s Church Boulevard
Published 2:00 pm Thursday, June 22, 2023
- An aerial illustration of Riverside's planned Smithfield hospital shows access from Benns Grant Boulevard. (Image courtesy of Isle of Wight County)
Isle of Wight County supervisors on June 15 unanimously approved Riverside Smithfield Hospital’s request to change a condition of its zoning.
When the supervisors rezoned the 29.5-acre agricultural site in 2008 for commercial uses, they had required Riverside Health Systems to construct a north access road leading to Benn’s Church Boulevard, also known as Route 10.
A revised proffer statement states Riverside will, instead of building its own road, use Benn’s Grant Boulevard to access Route 10, but will grant the county right-of-way access along the northern property line to allow Isle of Wight, the Virginia Department of Transportation or a third party to construct the originally proffered north acres road at a later date.
Benns Grant Boulevard serves the adjacent 776-home Benn’s Grant residential development. The 50-bed hospital is scheduled to break ground July 26.
Prior to the unanimous vote of approval, the supervisors voted to waive holding a public hearing on Riverside’s request. State law allows local governments to dispense with a public hearing when a requested change in proffers does not affect “use or density.”
The supervisors previously voted in April to allow the hospital to exceed Isle of Wight’s maximum 50-foot height restriction for commercial buildings and build a larger-than-allowed roadside sign.
The hospital is proposed to be 67 feet tall with a roadside sign just under 11 feet tall to allow for greater visibility from the four-lane Benn’s Church Boulevard.
As of May, Riverside anticipated completing construction by December 2025 and opening by early 2026.