DAYTONA BEACH — The Veterans Affairs outpatient center set to be built along Williamson Boulevard will begin serving patients in early 2024, the Orlando VA Healthcare Systems announced this week.
When it opens, the 130,000-square-foot center will replace two smaller, older VA facilities in Daytona Beach and offer a broader range of services. Currently, some military veterans living in east Volusia County have to make an hour-long drive to Orlando to receive certain VA services.
Wednesday’s announcement comes four months after an Ohio developer won the bidding for a federal government contract to build the multi-specialty clinic for the VA. The planned building is set to be built along the west side of Williamson, directly south of Daytona State College’s Advanced Technology College.
The new VA clinic will be on a 78-acre site that the developer put under contract to buy from Volusia County Schools in late 2019. The developer, Westlake, Ohio-based Carnegie Management & Development Corp., has agreed to pay $4.5 million for the mostly wooded land.
The federal contract calls for the new VA clinic to provide at least 106,826-square-foot of usable space for a wide range of uses including primary medical care, mental health and specialty medical care services and physical rehabilitation services. The clinic will include an on-site medical laboratory, a pharmacy, and eye and dental clinics.
“The new clinic is a consolidation and relocation of existing services,” said Andrea Madrazo, a spokeswoman for Orlando VA Healthcare Systems.
The new VA clinic could create nearly 20 new jobs when it opens, she said.
“As we get closer to the opening date of the new site of care, additional services may be added based on the demand,” Madrazo added. “The design of the space will be as flexible as possible to allow for adjustments in services as according to the needs of our veterans.”