JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The steel structural beams forming the shell are up as construction moves ahead briskly on the new Jacksonville Outpatient Clinic and a 30-bed domiciliary the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is building near Jacksonville International Airport.
The two facilities totaling 185,500 square feet will serve an estimated 23,346 veterans annually from Northeast Florida and South Georgia when completed, Cindy Snook, a spokeswoman for North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, told the Times-Union.
"The anticipated completion is in early 2024," she said.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will lease the facilities as part of its North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System.
Estimated at a combined total of $64.2 million, the outpatient clinic and domiciliary — essentially a dormitory that can be used for residential care — are being built on 26 acres at 145 Heron Bay Road off Max Leggett Parkway near Interstate 95.
Jacksonville VA OPC LLC purchased the property for $8.24 million in a sale recorded Dec. 22, 2020, according to Duval County property and court records.
Snook said overall, construction is at least 21 percent completed, after beginning in October 2021.
So far, the work completed includes site work, structural steel and concrete slab on the deck. Walls on the second floor of the outpatient clinic have been laid out. In addition, underground mechanical, electrical and plumbing has been roughed-in, she said.
Services to be provided include primary care, audiology, an eye clinic, multi-specialties, physical medicine and rehabilitation, prosthetics, radiology, specimen collection and telehealth.
The domiciliary, which will connect to the clinic via a covered walkway canopy, will provide rehabilitation and treatment for homeless veterans, Snook said.
The clinic will replace the Jacksonville VA Southpoint clinic at 6900 Southpoint Drive N. and the Jacksonville VA University clinic at 3901 Memorial Health Plaza on the Southside.
Remaining open is the Jacksonville 1 VA Clinic at 1536 N. Jefferson St.
North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System currently offers residential treatment in Lake City and Gainesville.
The North Jacksonville beds "will provide a substantial opportunity to treat veterans with intensive mental health needs, those who may be dealing with substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, homelessness and more," agency officials said in a news release announcing the project.
Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic and Domiciliary
- Address: 145 Heron Bay Road
- Location: Off Interstate 95 near Jacksonville International Airport and River City Marketplace
- Property size: 26 acres
- Project overview: Construction of a two-story Veterans Administration Outpatient clinic and a 30-bed domiciliary
- Construction began: Oct. 5, 2021
- Percentage of work completed: 21 percent
- Projected completion: Early 2024
- Estimated initial cost: $64.2
- Developer: US Federal Properties of Kansas City
- Contractor: Meyer Najem Construction of Fishers, Ind.
- Architect: Hoefer Welker of Kansas City, Mo.
