It’s a relief that the Department of Veterans Affairs and Aurora have reached agreement on a 20-acre site for a new veterans hospital at East Colfax Avenue and Potomac Street on the Fitzsimons medical campus.
The freestanding, $350 million, 1.1 million-square-foot hospital will be within walking distance of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, so the two institutions will be able to continue sharing staff and services, as they have at the old medical campus in central Denver.
The existing VA hospital at 1055 Clermont St. is more than a half-century old, crowded and lacking in modern amenities. Late last year, the VA rejected a plan for a shared facility with University Hospital. VA Secretary Anthony Principi said the 12.5-acre parcel then slated for the hospital was too small, and he also wanted a free-standing facility.
Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer, who also heads the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, and new VA Secretary Jim Nicholson negotiated a deal to locate the hospital on what was to have been site of a conference center and hotel. A new location for the conference hotel, considered critical to development of a biosciences park, will have to be found, and the price for the 20 acres hasn’t been agreed upon.
The fact that the redevelopment authority showed flexibility in order to get the new VA hospital is commendable.
The facility will be next to Children’s Hospital, which also is moving to Fitzsimons. The veterans hospital will be only a short distance from Interstate 225, which will make it more accessible for out-of-town patients.
If all goes well, construction is expected to begin in 2008, with completion in 2011. Sen. Wayne Allard’s staff says the Colorado delegation supports the project and the chances of getting funding are good.
This sounds like a good deal for Aurora, the VA, and most of all, veterans.
