Sibley Hospital is vying for District government approval of a new medical office building on its upper Northwest D.C. campus, a facility it asserts is critical to maintaining a strong physician presence in the community.
But a growing number of Sibley neighbors are contesting the development, arguing its inevitable impact on traffic and tranquility is simply too much to bear. An immediate 7 percent increase in vehicle trips on the community’s main arteries and side streets, they say, will overwhelm already crowded streets.
“We just feel it’s time to say uh-uh, this is getting to be too much,” said Adele Harrell, co-founder of the now 105-member Sibley Neighbors for Responsible Growth. “This is a residential neighborhood, and you have not convinced us that this is necessary.”
The proposed seven-story structure and 750-space parking garage, to be considered next week by the D.C. Zoning Commission, would help Sibley remain financially viable by bonding 75 physicians to the hospital, delivering a reliable revenue stream and providing patients easy access to their doctors and diagnostic testing, the hospital says.
Soaring malpractice rates are driving doctors out of Washington, said Jerry Price, Sibley’s chief operating officer, while medical offices such as the Washington Clinic are closing in favor of upscale condos. The Sibley development, he said, locks in doctors “as a hedge against that, if another medical office building was to close.”
“It’s just what a modern hospital has,” Price said.
A transportation analysis prepared for the hospital found the new building “will not have a negative impact on the surrounding roadway network,” including Little Falls Road, MacArthur Boulevard, Delacarlia Parkway and Loughboro Road.The existing roads, it said, can accommodate added traffic.
The local advisory neighborhood commission, however, didn’t buy the analysis, and recently demanded that the hospital further reduce the number of doctors to about 60 who would operate out of the new building. With no access to Metro, said Rachel Thompson, chair of ANC-3D, “This is not a sensible place to bring that kind of traffic.”
The Sibley neighbors group, which includes NBC’s Tim Russert and former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, has hired a zoning lawyer and planning expert.
Sibley medical office building to include:
» Auditorium
» Surgery center
» Diagnostic imaging center
» Pharmacy
» Medical-related retail
