The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs has received a $35 million federal grant to complete the expansion of the Minneapolis Veterans Home, Gov. Mark Dayton announced Wednesday.
In addition, the state will receive $737,000 in federal funding for the expansion, modernization, and improvement of four of Minnesota five veterans' homes. Both grants come from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The $35 million grant will be used to complete the renovation and expansion of the Minneapolis home, including the construction of a 100-bed skilled nursing facility. The project also will include a tunnel connecting all of the skilled nursing buildings on the vet home campus. Dayton and the Legislature provided $18.9 million of state matching funds for the project during the 2013 session.
Construction on the third and final phase of the project will begin in May 2016.
The Minneapolis home has about 350 beds, including a domiciliary. The project won't be adding beds but will update and replace beds, facilities, and infrastructure.
The other grant will fund the installation of new resident lift systems at state vet homes in Minneapolis, Silver Bay, Fergus Falls and Luverne. The state has provided $385,000 in matching funds for the project, which is designed to enhance safety and improve resident care.
The project is expected to meet a goal of equipping 25 percent of rooms in the vet homes with mechanical lift equipment.
The state operates five veterans homes throughout Minnesota. The Minneapolis home is by far the largest, located on a 53-acre campus in south Minneapolis that was set aside for veterans shortly after the Civil War.
