AURORA, Colo. — When plans to build a Veterans Hospital took shape in 2010, no one expected things to get so complicated. Six years later the Veterans Hospital, located in Aurora is still under construction and on Sept. 23 lawmakers asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate if Veterans Affairs (VA) executives lied to congress to conceal excessive construction costs.

The Inspector General’s report contributes mismanagement, delays and lax oversight on behalf of the VA to adding millions of dollars to the construction and design cost as well as delaying the opening of the hospital for years.

“It is an absolute fact that numerous VA officials repeatedly misled Congress regarding cost overruns related to the replacement Denver VA medical center,” committee chairman Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Florida, said in a statement that announced his request.

The Veterans Hospital, located in Aurora, Colo. is still incomplete as lawmakers are starting question if construction officials mislead congress.
Photo Credit: Denver Post

The Veterans Hospital was designed by Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) with Omaha, Neb.-based Kiewit and New York-based Turner responsible for construction. The original date of completion was slated for sometime in 2014, however, after a series of setbacks, the hospital is now slated for completion in Jan. 2018.

Besides the date of completion, the construction cost of the hospital has changed a number of times. The construction project was originally projected to cost $582.8 million, however after four months of pre-construction work, builders were convinced that the figure was too small. On Nov. 9, 2011, the cost was raised from $582.8 million to $604 million.

The final design features 1.2 million square feet consisting of 12 different buildings stretching across 31 acres. The design includes a curved lobby spanning two city blocks, 43 elevators and a vivarium for animal experiments. The center also includes diagnostic and treatment facilities, ambulatory care clinics, laboratories, and inpatient beds in acute care, critical care, mental health, rehabilitation, spinal cord injury and long-term care, according to a statement from SOM.

Sustainable features include photovoltaic panels, earth tubes and solar concentrators, which will contribute to reduced energy costs, according to a statement from SOM.

One major problem that contributed to unnecessary costs and a lengthy design process was the contracting method known as integrated design and construct (IDC) used during construction. Not only is this method of contracting unfamiliar to the VA, no major VA project has ever been completed using an IDC contract.