Lynchburg, Va.-based Centra Health plans to close Virginia Baptist Hospital in 2028, a spokesperson confirmed, transitioning services to other system facilities while pursuing a mixed-use redevelopment of the more than 100-year-old campus.
Virginia Baptist’s first building was constructed in 1924, with its last structure built in 1999, according to an adaptive reuse study for the hospital shared with Becker’s.
The hospital currently offers women’s and children’s services, surgical care, radiology and other outpatient services like behavioral health access points through the Piedmont Psychiatric Center and Addiction Treatment Center. The services will relocate to Centra Lynchburg General Hospital and the system’s new Centra Simons Run Medical Campus, according to a June 26 news release.
The six-month adaptive reuse plan envisions residential living, retail, childcare, education and recreation spaces on the 29-acre, 537,062-square-foot campus. Centra plans to be selective regarding demolition to ensure the existing building remains as intact as possible.
“Throughout this process, our objective is to create enduring value for the community we are privileged to serve,” Richard Tugman, president and CEO of Centra, said in the release. “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.”
The plan is part of Centra’s broader modernization plan, which is investing more than $657 million in the Lynchburg area.
Some of the projects include Lynchburg-based Centra Langhorne Medical Center, a five-story medical office building that opened in December 2025 and brings multiple specialty clinics under one roof; Lynchburg-based Centra Simons Run Medical Campus, a campus in partnership with Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health affiliates that opened in 2026; Tower A at Lynchburg General Hospital, a six-story facility that is currently under construction and comprises an emergency department, surgical suites, maternity services and inpatient units.
Centra now plans to conduct a process to identify a master developer for Virginia Baptist and select one by spring 2027.
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