Aurora – The Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to pay about $15 million for 24 acres on the old Fitzsimons Army post to build a new hospital, Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer said Thursday.
The financial agreement has been in the works since July, when the site for the new facility was chosen. The VA complex is expected to be at the corner of East Colfax Avenue and Potomac Street, near Interstate 225.
It probably will include a 1.1 million- square-foot hospital and up to four other buildings, with an expected construction cost of at least $600 million.
Tauer, chairman of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, said the deal is “a concrete step in a long process.”
The redevelopment authority approved the proposed deal Wednesday.
But the price isn’t final, Tauer said.
“In the offer there is an agreement to pay per square foot,” he said. “We’ve agreed on the business terms, but there are several steps left.”
The VA must do an environmental survey of the area, and associated costs for utilities may change the final price, Tauer said.
Congress must also agree to appropriate money for the purchase.
In addition, U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez, a Republican from Arvada, said Congress probably must approve the site, a step he called “extremely incidental.”
Congress previously authorized plans for a hospital to be shared with the University of Colorado. A year ago, the VA broke off negotiations for that shared building, putting the entire project in jeopardy.
“The wheels got a little wobbly, and we got nervous for a bit,” said Beauprez, who said he has been pushing for a new VA hospital almost since the day he was sworn into office three years ago. “But thankfully we’ve had some very committed people” working to get the new hospital built.
Karen Fidel, spokeswoman for the VA, said the department was “pleased and cautiously optimistic about where the progress is going” on the new hospital.
It will replace an aging – and, in places, crumbling – building east of Colorado Boulevard. In 2004, federal inspectors excoriated that hospital as a filthy mess that jeopardized patient care. Hospital officials say they have made significant improvements, but at the time, they said much of the problem was due to the aging facility.
The site for the new hospital has existing buildings on it, including a recently built office building owned by University Physicians Inc.; the main branch of the Fitzsimons Community Credit Union; and the Fitzsimons Pool, owned by the city of Aurora. The VA must negotiate for those properties, Tauer said.
The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority planned to use the land for a conference hotel that was considered crucial for the success of the “bioscience park.” Now, the authority will use the proceeds from the sale to buy land elsewhere for the hotel, Tauer said.
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
