Noteboom The Law Firm

Jacksonville, FL VA Hospital One Step Closer to Completion

July 21, 2010 - The time for talking has passed; this is the time for action. More than 10 years of planning has finally come to an end. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) finally laid down the last piece of the puzzle that has come to represent the construction of a new Jacksonville, Florida VA Medical Center (JVAMC): a contractor to build an outpatient clinic at the new VA clinic has been chosen.

The new outpatient clinic will not only allow the JVAMC to provide medical care to more veteran-patients, the quality of the entire facility will be improved. Once completed, the new Medical Clinic will span more than 100,000 square feet. 89,468 of those square feet will be usable space and the parking lot will hold 500 parking spots.

Early 2011 should see the beginning of construction with it lasting approximately 18 months. The new clinic will exist on Jefferson Street, close to the already existing downtown VA clinic. The company winning the bid for the construction will purchase the land where the new clinic is to be built and then lease it to the VA for a minimum of 20 years. The VA has released nothing speaking to the cost of the project.

The original plan for the clinic called for a completed construction date of 2003. An unfortunate series of events to include the death of a winning bidder for the project, required land expansion, and unforeseen city involvement following the discovery of fly ash on the premises delayed the final plans from being developed.

The new clinic will be smaller than a VA hospital but larger than existing sub-sites around the city. The services of the present VA clinic will be substantially expanded with this new addition and will include more diagnostic equipment and more staff specialists. Once completed, the size of the existing facility will double.