Hamilton City Council earlier this year granted a conditional-use approval of plans for a new Hamilton VA Clinic on an undeveloped parcel at 7215 Gateway Avenue, which is a corner lot at Gateway and Hamilton-Mason Road.
Construction would be a Class A community-based outpatient clinic for the Department of Veterans Affairs and is slated to cost $13 million.
“Aside from it being a VA Clinic, it’s absolutely a great addition to that medical area, and it’s great to see people who are served being treated with an amenity so close buy to where they live,” said Jody Gunderson, Hamilton’s economic development director.
They are expected to hire 40 new jobs over the next three years after the building construction is completed. In exchange, Hamilton is proposing a 10-year, 50% Community Reinvestment Area tax abatement. City Council is expected to entertain a motion on the deal at its next meeting on Aug. 28.
This clinic is designed to be just under 24,500 square feet with 27 exam rooms, two curb cuts (off Gateway) and 110 parking spaces. Employees would include doctors, nurses and back-end administration. The planned operating hours would be similar to the current hours, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
The clinic required a conditional use, and needed planning commission approval per city regulations, which indicate all clinics are conditional use and require additional review.
In a letter to Hamilton staff, Justin Kaufer, director and project manager at CBLH Design, the applicant, wrote that this building would continue to be what’s called a VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). The primary function is to provide outpatient care for the local veteran community, he wrote, “so veterans do not need to travel to the main VA hospitals for routine care. Services include primary care, mental health consultation, lab work, audiology, social work and telehealth.”
The VA would enter into a long-term lease ― a minimum of 15 years ― with the site developer and owner West Second Street Associates Hamilton VA LLC, according to Kaufer. The city issued building permits for the project
The clinic “will positively impact” the area as it would be near other health-based organizations, including TriHealth Bethesda Butler Hospital and Medical Campus and Gateway Springs Health Campus. Knollwood Crossing Apartments and Glen Meadows Nursing Center are also nearby facilities.
About the Author
