Maine Veterans’ Homes
Augusta, ME – Pittsfield, Maine-based Cianbro Corporation and joint venture partner VJS Construction Services of Pewaukee, Wis. broke ground recently on the new 138-bed Maine Veterans’ Homes (MVH) senior living facility in Augusta.
The 179,000sf long-term care complex will be situated on 44 acres directly across the street from MaineGeneral Medical Center, the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care, and Kennebec Pharmacy and Home Care.
Designed jointly by Gawron Turgeon Architects of Scarborough, Maine, and Milwaukee-based Plunkett Raysich Architects, the $91 million, state-of-the-art residential care facility will replace MVH’s current 150-bed nursing home.
Maine Veterans’ Homes aerial view
The new campus will comprise four two-story buildings, including three residential buildings centered on the “small house” model that features private bedrooms and bathrooms for every resident. Each residential building will have 10 to 15 private rooms clustered around a living room, dining room, den, and kitchen in which residents are encouraged to gather and help prepare meals if so inclined.
The fourth building will contain a gym, large rehab pool, and extensive multipurpose room. It will also feature a “town center” with storefronts housing amenities such as a barber shop/beauty parlor, movie theatre, bistro, and veterans club.
Outdoor amenities include patios, raised gardening beds, and a stocked pond where residents can fish.
“We hope this new facility will be a fitting tribute to our veterans and provide them the home, dignity and quality of life that they so richly deserve,” said MVH CEO Kelley Kash. “We look forward to opening the doors of the new Augusta home by this time in 2021.”
In addition to Kash, the groundbreaking event featured comments by Maine Governor Janet Mills and the state’s entire congressional delegation, as well as United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, whose department contributed $49 million toward the project.
