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Bid Date/Time: Sept. 3, 2009, 4 p.m.
(General contractors would prefer bids by Sept. 1 at 2 p.m.)

The Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center program was established in 1979 by Congress, which recognized that many Vietnam veterans were still having readjustment problems. In 2008, the program provided more than 1.1 million visits to more than 167,000 veterans, including over 53,000 visits by more than 14,500 families of veterans. Twenty-eight new centers for veterans will be established in 2010.

One of the new centers will be located in Walla Walla, Wash., at the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center. It opened in 1921, and resides on the grounds of a historic cavalry fort that was established in 1858. After the departure of the U.S. Army, Fort Walla Walla was used for veterans’ health-care needs.

The new center will be a state-of-the-art residential rehabilitation facility in which employees focus on various levels of mental health care, including homeless and employment services, substance abuse treatment, psychosocial support and reentry from incarceration services.

The new facility, estimated to cost $6.7 million, will be 22,000 square feet and have a 36-bed capacity. The project will include 35-percent concept design. The completed facility, at minimum, must be LEED certified; however, a target of LEED silver certification is being considered. The successful contractor will be required to complete the design and perform all necessary tasks to construct the facility.

The construction work will consist of site preparation, road realignment, concrete slab-on-grade foundation, structural work, mechanical, electrical and other systems, exterior and interior finishes, roofing, fencing, some landscaping, and other work.