‘Next level of care’: Groundbreaking held at Holyoke Veterans Home for $482.6 million reconstruction

HOLYOKE, Mass. — Federal, state and local officials attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Holyoke Veterans Home on Monday, amid plans for a massive $482.6 million reconstruction project at the facility where nearly 80 veterans died from a COVID-19 outbreak in the early days of the pandemic.

The newly-constructed Massachusetts Veterans Home at Holyoke will house 234 long-term care beds, officials said.

“Every day of this rebuilding project and beyond, it is going to be all about the veterans and those who have served,” Gov. Maura Healey said, joining other elected officials for the groundbreaking at the facility at 110 Cherry St. around noon. “We want to provide the very best, not just here in Holyoke but in Chelsea, all across our veterans services, programs and facilities.”

“This renewal of the Veterans Home at Holyoke is a labor of love and respect for our administration,” Healey said.

“This is a $482 million investment in our veterans. It’s going to be a facility that veterans, their families, the entire state of Massachusetts will be so proud of and we want to be clear that our investment in the home symbolizes a next level of care and commitment to veterans and their families all across the state,” Healey said.

In March, the Executive Office of Veterans Services completed the final steps to ensure compliance and receive grant funding through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs State Home Construction Grant Program, officials said. The Holyoke Veterans’ Home then entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the VA, committing $263.5 million in federal funds. So far, $164 million of the grant has been awarded this fiscal year, with the remainder to be paid out in future fiscal years.

The project’s total cost is $482.6 million, as a combined federal and state investment, officials said.

Several elected officials spoke about the need for supportive care for veterans in Massachusetts.

“This is obviously a very joyful but somber occasion, a tough conversation to have to talk about,” Sen. John Velis, D-Hampden, who is also a veteran, said during his remarks on Monday.

Velis spoke of his discussions with other veterans following the COVID deaths at the Holyoke facility at the start of the pandemic.

“Two words: Never again,” said Velis.

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