CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A new Veterans Administration medical clinic is coming to the former site of a movie theater in Western Branch.

Tuesday, Chesapeake City Council unanimously approved the VA’s plan for a 27,100-square-foot Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) off Chesapeake Square Ring Road, just across from the street from Chesapeake Square Mall’s former Sears.

The clinic is designed to make healthcare easier for veterans according to city planning documents. Instead of making the trek across the water to the Hampton VA or another military installation, the clinic will offer common general outpatient services, including health and
wellness visits.

The facility will include a mobile MRI unit, a drive-thru pharmacy, a sensory garden, and an outdoor terrace for employees and will be open Monday-Saturday.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Asset and Infrastructure Review report released last year identified Chesapeake as having one of the largest enrollee populations in their market stretching from Fredricksburg to the Outer Banks.

The same report suggests closing the 150-year-old Hampton VA medical center in favor of modern and conveniently located facilities for veterans. Another larger outpatient facility is under development at the Chesapeake Regional Hospital campus.

In this case, the city is also turning around a dormant property.

From 1990 to 2011, it was the home of Cinemark Movie Theater, according to the city. When Cinemark built a new theater on the former Dillard’s parcel on the east side of the mall, Chesapeake’s Economic Development Authority purchased it for $1.8 million and leveled razed the theater.

It’s the same amount North Carolina based Construction Managers, Inc will buy the property for to build the clinic.