SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a contract for its long-promised new medical clinic in Savannah to Johnson Development of Birmingham, Ala., which will build and manage the expanded facility at 11111 Rio Road on property currently owned by Providence Presbyterian Church.
As is the standard policy with VA clinics, Johnson Development will buy the property, develop it and lease it to the VA.
Derek Weaver, Johnsons senior vice president for federal property management, said his company plans to begin the next phase immediately, with a target completion date of June 2016.
We will be meeting with Savannah city planners in the next few weeks to go over designs, Weaver said. Right now, Id say were looking at an April groundbreaking.
The new clinic will replace the nearly 25-year-old, 39,000-square-foot facility off Middleground Road.
While that clinic has traditionally received good reviews from veterans for medical care, the VA determined five years ago that it had become too small and offered too few services for its growing patient load.
Since that time, the areas veteran population has grown from 8,000 to nearly 13,000.
The new clinic will come close to doubling the current space with a total of 69,000 square feet, Weaver said, considerably more than the minimum 50,500 the VA requested.
In addition to primary care, ophthalmology, mental health care and minor surgical procedures, the facility will also include a womens health clinic.
The property selected is within blocks of the 9-acre site on Mohawk Street originally designated for the new clinic in 2011, when the VA held a bid conference attended by more than 125 would-be developers, architects and contractors.
Construction had been expected to begin within the year. But the property, owned by attorney Howard Spiva, was deemed to have appraisal issues and the process was put on hold, only to emerge in 2013 with a decidedly different look.
Instead of inviting developers to bid on an already determined site, the VA asked developers to submit their plans – complete with a site of their choosing – according to Brad Seifert, whose Washington, D.C., firm represents the VA in real estate and construction matters.
Those submittals that matched VA requirements were sent requests for proposals. Seifert said, adding that a contract award was expected in early 2014, with the winning developer expected to buy the property and begin construction shortly thereafter.
But delays are more often the norm than the exception with VA projects.
An audit last year by the watchdog U.S. Government Accountability office indicates efforts to lease and build new VA clinics across the country are running years behind, with 39 of 41 proposed clinics – including Savannahs – delayed.
ow that a contract has been awarded, delays on the Savannah project should be a thing of the past, Weaver said.
Since 1994, Johnson Development, a private, independent firm, has developed more than 4 million square feet of medical office and healthcare facility space, providing a full menu of advisory and project management services.
The Savannah facility will be the companys third VA clinic.
