Centra reveals possibilities for Virginia Baptist Hospital redevelopment

Surveys, stakeholder meetings, focus groups, open houses and a feasibility study all led up to Thursday, when Centra Health unveiled possible visions for the future of its Virginia Baptist Hospital campus, which opened 102 years ago to serve Lynchburg.

Centra Health, a Lynchburg-based nonprofit health system serving more than 500,000 patients, presented two mixed-use redevelopment scenarios for the site’s 537,062 square feet of space during an open house at Oakwood Country Club.

Both visions for Virginia Baptist Hospital feature residential, retail and restaurants, a hotel and childcare. Both include a mix of preserving historic structures, adapting some existing spaces and new development on the 29-acre site, which currently includes a dozen buildings and additions. Both aim to protect the campus’s Colonial Revival character.

“Throughout this process, our objective is to create enduring value for the community we are privileged to serve,” Centra President and CEO Richard Tugman said in a statement. “At its heart, this work is about stewardship. It is about honoring a century‑long legacy whilst ensuring the campus continues to have purpose and relevance in the years ahead.”

Moving forward, Centra plans to undertake a two-step process to identify a master developer to lead the redevelopment strategy. The health system expects to choose the developer by spring 2027.

Scenario A for the redevelopment of Virginia Baptist Hospital would include up to 155 rooms in a senior living facility or between 95 to 105 apartments in a 245,000-square-foot space. The campus also would include new development with about a dozen cottage courts, which are small, detached homes. This scenario also features a 105,000-square-foot healthcare learning hub, a childcare space, a medical office building, a hotel with up to 85 rooms, about 20,000 square feet for retail and restaurant space, a 50,000-square-foot recreation center and parking.

Scenario B would include two buildings with up to 60 residential units, along with up to 35 units in another building, as well as eight new townhomes and 30 new quad units. This scenario includes a larger hotel, which will have up to 90 rooms and about 13,000 square feet less for retail and food. It also includes childcare space and a recreation center.

Michigan-based Progressive Cos., an architecture and planning firm, developed the feasibility study, which is part of Centra’s $657 million modernization plan for the Lynchburg region.

As planning progresses, Virginia Baptist Hospital continues to serve patients. It currently offers women’s and children’s services, surgical care, radiology and other outpatient services, including behavioral health.

Centra expects many of the hospital’s functions to be relocated by 2028.

A six-floor tower is under construction at Lynchburg General Hospital. It will include an emergency department, surgical suites, maternity services and inpatient units.

Centra Behavioral Health Hospital opened this month at the Centra Simons Run Medical Campus and provides inpatient psychiatric care. Centra Rehabilitation Hospital, located on the same campus, is scheduled to open in July. It expands access to specialized care for adults who have experienced a stroke, brain injury or other conditions.

In June, Centra announced plans to lay off about 90 employees, a move due in part to cuts by the federal government. The budget reconciliation bill referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law July 4, 2025, is expected to cut federal Medicaid spending by $911 billion over a decade.

“Restructuring also helps us adapt to the significant pressures facing healthcare providers including reductions in government reimbursements, economic challenges, shifting demographics and evolving technologies,” Centra Health said in a June 1 statement.