HomeMy WebLinkAboutTequesta-Veterans_Palm Beach Post_02/23/2010Tequesta wants to buy empty building, convert it to rehab center for veterans
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VA officials toured the facility last week.
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Tequesta wants to buy empty building, convert it to rehab center for
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By BILL DIPAOLO
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 23, 2009
TEQUESTA— Avillage eyesore may become a rehabilitation center for military veterans. Healthcare Jobs
Village officials are negotiating with Miami -based Cornerstone Tequesta LLC to buy a vacant building on 9
acres just south of the water treatment plant on Old Dixie Highway. They hope to lease the three -story, Search for healthcare jobs in and
115,000- square -foot building to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Village Manager Mike Couzzo around West Palm Beach, Florida.
said.
Known as The Preserve, it was constructed in
2000 to be an assisted - living center and later
was considered for condominiums. The building
has one- and two - bedroom units, a dining room,
a lobby, a kitchen with a walk -in freezer and an
exercise room. It has never been occupied.
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About 90 veterans with post- traumatic stress
disorder and substance abuse problems would
be able to stay there for three to six months.
Veterans with those problems are now treated at
local hospitals, assisted - living facilities or
nursing homes. Those who need longer care are
sent to VA hospitals in Miami, Tampa or other
locations. said Paul Russo. assistant director of the VA Medical Center in Riviera Beach.
"There is a shortage of mental health care for veterans in South Florida," Russo said. "A new facility would
allow us to take the pressure off community hospitals and give us a central location to better meet
veterans' needs"
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VA officials are evaluating other potential locations, including a parcel on the hospital property on Blue Do you or your child have a cold or
Heron Boulevard. the flu? Identify the symptoms and
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Russo did not say when a final decision would be made. may be the cause. ME NS Cornerstone paid $5 million for the land in 2004, according to Palm Beach County records. Tequesta officials did not say how much they were offering.
The center is needed for veterans in northern Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Martin counties, said U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R- Tequesta.
"Post- traumatic stress disorder is a growing concern with returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. This would be great for veterans on the Treasure Coast,"
Rooney said.
Tequesta officials will continue to pursue buying the property, even if the VA finds an alternate site.
Among the village's options would be demolishing the building and turning the land into a public park or renting the structure to another government agency. The
village also could use the property to expand its water treatment plant, Councilman Jim Humpage said.
"Even if the VA doesn't lease the building, its a win for the village because we would get rid of an empty eyesore," Vice Mayor Calvin Turnquest said. "And in this
economy, now is the time we can get a good deal on the land."
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