Country’s first Green House home for veterans completed

The Chicago office of Perkins Eastman joins the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) in announcing the country’s first Community Living Center (CLC) to utilize the Green House Prototype Design Package at the VA Illiana Health Care System campus in Danville, Ill.

The CLC at Danville consists of two 7,500 sf buildings—named Freedom House and Liberty House—containing ten private bedrooms with direct views to common areas, communal living areas and kitchens, and ample outdoor space, all with an aim to restore maximum function and independence while providing veteran-centered care.

The VA Illiana Health Care System CLC is the first of several VA communities either planned or under construction that utilizes the Green House Prototype Design Package, a new approach for seniors needing skilled nursing care that emphasizes de-institutionalization. The prototype was designed in 2011 by Perkins Eastman in concert with the Green House Project and NCB Capital Impact to provide a turnkey design for senior living communities at a reduced schedule and with reduced costs. The overall goal of design is to empower more providers across the country to create communities where seniors can experience quality care in a de-institutionalized environment.

A transformation in the way veteran care is delivered, Freedom House and Liberty House address the spectrum of health—physical, emotional, psychological—in their design. In adopting this community-based model of care, Freedom House and Liberty House at VA Illiana provide greater assurances of privacy and personalized environments for veterans in ways more traditional models cannot.

Perkins Eastman also designed six CLC buildings at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Center in North Chicago, Ill., the first phase of which consists of two Green House Prototype buildings currently under construction to complete this summer. The second phase consists of four CLC buildings currently in design. BD+C

Boyd R. Zoccola is Chair and Chief Elected Officer of BOMA International. A BOMA member since 1994, he has served on the Executive, Finance, Investment, and Medical/Healthcare Facilities Committees. An Indiana Real Estate Principal Broker and a board member of the Real Estate Round Table, he is Executive Vice President of Hokanson Companies, Inc., of Indianapolis, and has been involved in the development of $600 million worth of real estate. On a volunteer basis, Zoccola was president of Horizon House and a board member of Girls, Inc. He holds a BA in biology from Indiana University.