U.S. General Services Administration
GSA signs lease for new Tampa VA clinic
ATLANTA — The U.S. General Services Administration recently awarded a 20-year lease to build a new mental health clinic for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Tampa, Florida.
The new clinic will combine three existing undersized VA clinics throughout the greater Tampa metropolitan area into a new 144,000-square-foot mental healthcare facility better able to serve the area’s growing veteran population.
Construction of the new clinic, located at Temple Terrace Highway and Davis Road, will begin in spring 2022 and last approximately 18 months.
The new facility would replace the existing Psychology Rehab and Recovery Center, Tampa Domiciliary and the Tampa Mental Health Clinic, allowing the VA to consolidate, enhance and expand mental health services into a right-sized, state-of-the-art, energy efficient health care facility, including a 60-bed domiciliary and 800 parking spaces.
“There are few higher callings in our nation than military service, but as a veteran who retired from active duty, I have personally seen the mental and emotional toll it’s had on many of my comrades-in-arms,” said acting Regional Administrator Kevin Kerns with GSA’s Southeast Sunbelt Region. “By bringing together all of these essential services under one roof, our partners with the VA will be able to offer more convenient access to the care for those veterans in need.”
“Mental health is a top priority, and our new home for this critical service will provide an even better space for healing. Consolidating and expanding our facilities to better serve veterans is the overall goal of our mission to modernize Tampa VA,” said David VanMeter, interim director of James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics. “As more and more veterans come to call the Tampa Bay area their home, we are growing to meet their needs.”
In addition to better serving Tampa’s veterans community, the new clinic provides significant savings to taxpayers. By consolidating three facilities into a single medical center, the new agreement will save an estimated $15 million over the lease term.
The new Tampa VA clinic is the second planned in the state of Florida. GSA recently signed a lease to build another community-based outpatient clinic in Lakeland, Florida, with construction slated to begin in early 2022.
About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, managing a real estate portfolio of more than 370 million rentable square feet nationwide and overseeing approximately $68 billion in annual contracts. GSA’s mission is to deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across government, in support of the Biden-Harris administration’s four priorities of climate; COVID response; economic recovery; and diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. For more information, visit: www.gsa.gov and follow us at @USGSA and @US_GSAR4.
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