The Gainesville Veterans Affairs Mental Health and Outpatient Clinics were each awarded Two Green Globes for New Construction ratings by the Green Building Initiative. Green Globes is a three-in-one building rating system that evaluates the environmental sustainability, health and wellness and resilience of commercial buildings for new construction and existing buildings.

Both projects earned a Two Green Globes rating for demonstrating significant achievements in resource efficiency, reduced environmental impacts and improved occupant wellness.

Notable achievements identified through the Green Globes assessment include an energy reduction of 15.73%, water reduction of 35% through water-saving fixtures, significant number of windows that optimize daylighting and views of the exterior for occupants and reconfigurable partitions to facilitate cubicle adjustments.

The project included the demolition and abatement of an existing facility and construction of the 57,000-square-foot, single-story mental health clinic and the 100,000-square-foot, two-story outpatient clinic. New construction included patient rooms, office spaces, public restrooms and landscaping for both facilities, as well as parking.

The mental health clinic offers an array of services to veterans in the community, including mental health intensive care management, psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery, substance abuse treatment, compensated work therapy, post-traumatic stress disorder recovery, community care and suicide prevention. Services offered at the outpatient clinic include primary care, telehealth, prosthetics, radiology, women’s health, CT scans and MRI.

Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) was the architect and interior designer for the project, with Johnson Healthcare Real Estate serving as the developer and BL Harbert International as the general contractor.