VA construction program ‘a disaster,’ says congressman

The VA construction program took more hits recently after the chairman of a congressional Committee on Veterans’ Affairs called an Aurora, Colo., hospital project “a disaster,” and a key VA official resigned abruptly.

The 182-bed Aurora hospital has incurred more than $1 billion in cost overruns. The Army Corps of Engineers has taken over the management of the project. Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, said the breakdown was due to “pure incompetence.” Democrats on that committee last week proposed stripping the VA of any construction authority.

Contractor Kiewit-Turner ceased construction on the Aurora hospital in December after the United States Civilian Board of Contract Appeals determined that the VA breached its contract by failing to provide a design that could be built for $582,840,000.

Rep. Jeff Miller called for the agency to fire the executives responsible for construction of VA hospitals. Amid this controversy, Glenn Haggstrom, principal executive director of the Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction with the VA abruptly resigned his post.

This week on The Weekly show, BD+C editors speak with AEC industry leaders from BK Facility Consulting, cove.tool, and HMC Architects about what two healthcare designers learned about the shortcomings—and happy surprises—of healthcare facilities in which they found themselves as patients, and how AEC firms can use machine learning to optimize design, cost, and sustainability, and prioritize efficiency protocols.

The Grand, a mixed-use project in Los Angeles

Market Data | Feb 24, 2021

2021 won’t be a growth year for construction spending, says latest JLL forecast

Predicts second-half improvement toward normalization next year.

Stantec & LIGHTGLASS Simulate Daylight in a Windowless Patient Space

Healthcare Facilities | Feb 18, 2021

The Weekly show, Feb 18, 2021: What patients want from healthcare facilities, and Post-COVID retail trends

This week on The Weekly show, BD+C editors speak with AEC industry leaders from JLL and Landini Associates about what patients want from healthcare facilities, based on JLL's recent survey of 4,015 patients, and making online sales work for a retail sector recovery.