Located 15 miles outside of Washington, D.C., The Virginian was envisioned as a high-end senior living community when it was originally built in 1980. But as newer senior living communities opened in the area over time, the building began to show its age through dated finishes and makeshift amenity spaces, such as former resident units repurposed into nondescript dining rooms.
“The community was ready for a refresh, and it needed to be repositioned in the marketplace,” says Dora W. Kay, vice president of Moseley Architects (Springfield, Va.), the architecture firm on the project.
Private investment firm Focus Healthcare Partners (Chicago) purchased the building from the original developer’s family in April 2019 and immediately began planning a $67 million campus-wide renovation.
“Focus wanted to bring The Virginian back to what it once was,” says Shannon Remaley, principal at Meyer (Ardmore, Pa.), the interior design firm on the project. “It was once a high-end senior living destination, and they were looking to revitalize it with a luxury aesthetic to deliver an upgraded experience.”
The renovation, which began in 2020 and culminated with a grand opening in March, rehabbed nearly 85 percent of the seven-story, 367,000-square-foot community—from the front entrance to the interior rooms. In addition to new lighting, upgraded fixtures, and detailed millwork, the overhaul took a fresh approach to space planning throughout the building.
“There were some underutilized amenity spaces that didn’t have good adjacencies and didn’t promote engagement,” Remaley says. “We gave every room a purpose and an identity, and we connected the amenities to make the energy flow between floors.”
Rightsizing a senior living community
The original building comprised about 300 units, all licensed for assisted living—which meant independent living and memory care spaces were not purpose-built to serve specific acuities.
The lack of dedicated spaces made it challenging to provide appropriate levels of care and support services throughout the facility, leaving staff and residents shuffling between floors with no efficient flow.
To address evolving expectations for upscale offerings, the new owner set out to add, expand, and rearrange amenities to better serve each acuity in a hospitality-inspired environment.
“We saw an opportunity to renovate a building that was stuck in a different era, but also to perfect the operation,” says Michael Feinstein, managing director of Focus Healthcare Partners. “It wasn’t a purpose-built operation, so we reimagined the space to create a full continuum of care.”
Specifically, the remodeled building, owned by Focus and managed by Life Care Services, features a 38-bed memory care community on the first floor (which received a Gold Award in EFA’s 2022 Remodel/Renovation Competition), an 81-bed skilled nursing unit split across the lower levels of the building, and a 56-bed assisted living community on the third floor.
Space across the first, second, fourth, and fifth floors is devoted to independent living, with a high-end concierge club level on the fifth floor, creating 300 residential units total—all surrounded by enhanced amenities ranging from dining options to dog parks, cinemas, salons, and art studios.
“They have more options now on how they want to fulfill their days,” Remaley says.
Creating a sense of arrival on campus
When the investors from Focus walked into the building they bought in 2019, the entrance was far from grand.
Although the two-story lobby space was expansive, the grid ceilings and dated brass fixtures didn’t exude the luxury look they envisioned. More concerning, Feinstein notes, was the lack of engagement in the seating areas surrounding the lobby.
“It was quiet and mundane,” he says. “The problem was that we couldn’t recognize any noise or activity coming from lively spaces in the building.”
To activate the entrance area, the project team focused on further opening up the two-story lobby to create better adjacencies to the amenities and community spaces around it.
For example, they knocked out the walls enclosing the mezzanine above to create additional overlooks in community spaces including an art studio and rotating art gallery.
Most noticeably, they opened up the first-floor slab to add a grand staircase connecting the lobby to the main dining area on the lower level and to the new amenities on the second floor.
The nook underneath the staircase landing became a cozy basement wine cellar, tucked behind a custom arched door and “appointed with deep colors, brick walls, and beautiful lighting,” Feinstein says. Adding the wine cellar and staircase also helped break up the open, cafeteria-style dining room.
A two-sided stone fireplace and banquette seating flanked by decorative screens further separates the dining room into smaller segments, creating distinct seating areas to give residents more options. “Dividing up the space really gives it that intimate restaurant feel,” Kay says.
Establishing a high-end aesthetic
The design team wanted design details and features in The Virginian to exude luxury, from the moment guests and residents first approach the building. In addition to re-skinning the exterior façade, the design team added a porte-cochere over the entrance to create a focal point and convenient covered drop-off.
Other new outdoor amenities surround the entrance—including a water feature, fire pits, dog park, putting greens, and pickleball courts. “There’s a huge wow factor just coming onto the campus,” Kay says. “That lure of the first impression is key to enhance the luxury look and appeal envisioned for the community.”
Inside the building, designers relied on sophisticated finishes, high-contrast color palettes, and fixtures infused with technology and convenience.
The main lobby, for example, leverages a neutral, nature-inspired palette with herringbone-patterned wood floors and marble-like panels covering the columns. Lush blue chairs add pops of color that contrast with the light woodgrain and coordinate with the dark railings on the stairs leading up to the second floor.
At the top of the stairs, the new upscale bistro continues the luxury aesthetic by creating layers of textures through the patterned tile floor, stamped tin ceiling, and decorative wood slats that add visual interest over the bar.
On the concierge club level, the designers looked to “elevate the elevated,” Remaley says, taking the luxury décor even further to serve residents from the high-income neighborhoods nearby. Some of that strategy comes through space planning, with larger two- and three-bedroom units that offer sweeping views from the building’s best vantage points.
But much of it comes from the high-end finishes and high-tech fixtures—including smart thermostats and lighting systems controlled via smartphone, electronic window blinds, luxury closet systems, quartz countertops, and crown molding.
“It’s the layering of the design details—from the lighting to the ceilings, the walls and flooring, combined with the furniture and accessories—and how strategically coordinated they are that brings forth an elevated experience,” Remaley says.
Renovation success at The Virginian
The renovated Virginian is drawing new residents, exceeding its rental rate goals within six months of opening. Both the memory care and assisted living units are 100 percent occupied with waitlists, Feinstein says, and independent living occupancy is almost near capacity.
Additionally, the community has been attracting senior-level staff from around the country, just “based on the scale and the design of the project,” Feinstein says. “We invested heavily in design to create what we think is one of the best market-leading senior living offerings in the country, and our occupancy rates really illustrate that.”
Perhaps the most striking change, Kay says, is the energy level inside the senior living community. “It’s amazing to see the residents really utilizing the new amenity spaces,” she says.
The Virginian project details
Location: Fairfax, Va.
Completion date: April 2024
Owner: Focus Healthcare Partners
Total building area: 300,000 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: $67 million
Cost/sq. ft.: Not disclosed
Architect: Moseley Architects
Interior designer: Meyer
General contractor: Elements Hospitality
Builder/Construction Services: Wohlsen Construction
MEP Engineer: Salas O’Brien
FF&E Procurement: Meyer, Metropolitan Studio
Senior Living Consultant: Carle Consulting
Project Management & Owner’s Representative: Allied Partners
Art consultant: Prints Unlimited
Art/pictures: Prints Unlimited
Carpet/flooring: Shaw Contract, Tarkett, Nydree, Daltile
Ceiling/wall systems: Armstrong, Aboveview, Sarandi (specialty millwork ceilings)
Fabric/textiles: Architex
Lighting: Custom Contact Lighting (lobby feature chandelier)
Project details are provided by the design team and not vetted by Environments for Aging.
Brooke Bilyj is a freelance writer and owner of Bantamedia (Cleveland) and can be reached at [email protected].
