Suffolk Const. and EBNHC break ground on $20.7m Maverick Sq. health center

Jack Cradock, president and CEO of East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC), governor Deval Patrick, Boston mayor Thomas Menino, and congressman Michael Capuano broke ground on its new $20.7 million facility at 20 Maverick Sq. The new, 49,000 s/f ambulatory care building, which is being funded in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), will allow EBNHC to create new, critically-needed capacity to serve patients in need of primary care, vision services, and dental care. It is the first ARRA-funded project to break ground in the United States. "Community health centers are on the front lines of our Commonwealth's health care system, and today we celebrate the groundbreaking of a state-of-the-art facility that will provide quality care for the people of East Boston," said governor Patrick. "With stimulus funds from the federal government, this new facility will bring jobs to this vital community and ensure that residents get the quality services they deserve." "I am very excited about the developing stages of the EBNHC facility," said mayor Menino. "By expanding the health center's size, the new building will meet the demand for medical services in the area and also create new construction and health care jobs." The new building will also provide a home for the EBNHC Education and Training Institute as well as administration offices, which currently are in leased space. "The East Boston Neighborhood Health Center is an important presence in the community. These generous federal stimulus funds will help the center expand to meet growing needs. In addition to construction jobs, the enhanced facility will employ more medical personnel, and a larger staff will provide its patients with more and better medical and preventive services," said congressman Mike Capuano, co-founder and co-chair of the Community Health Centers Caucus in the U.S. House. Consistent with the intent of ARRA, the $12 million in stimulus funds for this $20 million project will help to create over 150 construction jobs and over 50 permanent health care jobs. An additional benefit of the project will be the anchor it provides to economic development and revitalization efforts in Maverick Sq. "June 14th marked a new day for our community health center, but it also represents the culmination of many years of planning, persistence, and hard work by our organization to win the financial support for this facility," said Cradock. "We are very grateful for the support we have received for this important project, both in terms of the federal funding for which the governor advocated so passionately, and for the efforts of the Boston Redevelopment Authority to work so closely with us to get this building right." The groundbreaking event, in addition to governor Patrick, mayor Menino, and congressman Capuano, featured state and local elected officials, EBNHC board members, and officials from the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and the National Association of Community Health Centers. The new facility, which will be built on a lot that is largely vacant, will complement a renovated MBTA Blue Line station in the square and other recent improvements. The building will be LEED certified and fully energy efficient. The architect for the project is isgenuity, LLC and the project manager is Suffolk Construction. The Maverick Sq. building project is being funded in part with monies made available under the Facility Investment Program (FIP) supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and announced under HRSA-10-029. The FIP Grant in the amount of $12 million represents 58% of the current estimated total project cost of $20.7 million. Non-governmental funds equal $8.7 millon or 42% of the current estimated total project cost.