VA breaks ground on $92 million outpatient clinic near Monroeville Mall

VA Pittsburgh broke ground Thursday on a $92-million outpatient clinic in Monroeville expected to be completed in spring 2023.

Under a 20-year lease, the 64,000-square-foot facility will be located outside the Monroeville Mall on Mall Circle Drive near the mall’s Macy’s department store. With the clinic, the VA aims to provide further convenience to local veterans seeking primary and specialty outpatient services.

“We all work hard to provide our veterans with the best care they can receive anywhere across the full continuum of healthcare,” said Kevin P. Amick, acting director of VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. “This particular project will prepare us for the future. It will enhance patient care, improve access, increase privacy, improve efficiency and, ultimately, increase veteran satisfaction.”

Summit Smith Development will be the developer. Construction is expected to begin this fall. Following completion, the clinic is anticipated to open to the community in early 2024.

Currently, the two closest VA clinics to Monroeville are the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center in Oakland and the H. John Heinz III Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center in O’Hara. Adding a third clinic would reduce drive times for some veterans residing east of Pittsburgh, U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle said.

“Pittsburgh, this has been a part of the country where, when people were called on to serve, they responded to the call,” Doyle said. “We have a large veteran population here. Many of them are old now. The World War II vets are just about gone. Now, we’re looking at Korea, Vietnam veterans. They all have unique challenges depending on where they’ve served.

“Most recently, Iraq veterans and Afghanistan veterans. We have to make sure, when we send these people all over the globe to fight these wars … that when they come home, we’re going to take care of them.”

In 2019, the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimated 149,783 veterans live in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Older veterans have been hesitant to travel to Oakland for treatment because of traffic and a lack of parking, Doyle said. The Monroeville site would provide ample space in lots surrounding the mall.

“It’s going to add to our already great medical centers with UPMC East and Forbes network, cancer centers,” Monroeville councilman Bob Williams said. “This is just going to make the medical centers greater in Monroeville than it already is. I’m excited because it’s going to let our veterans be convenient.

“When they come to Monroeville, park at the mall. You park, it’s free. So, I’m excited for them and Monroeville. It’s going to be a great facility and a great partner with the municipality medical centers.”

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) awarded a $92 million build-to-suit lease for the VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) on April 16. The VA and GSA are partnering to provide six CBOCs across the nation.

The clinic will offer integrated primary and mental health care, physical therapy, podiatry and optometry, among other treatments. VA patients will still have to travel to Oakland for some specific types of treatments.

“The same veterans that have sacrificed and defended the country and the flag, this clinic will take care of them,” Monroeville mayor Nick Gresock said.