VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — When it opens in 2022, the new Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center in Virginia Beach will be a much-needed, 128-bed medical/residential facility for our region's military heroes. But between now and then, there is some pain for nearby residents.
There are work vehicles, bulldozers and cranes, plus the cars and trucks that the workers drive to the 25-acre work site off North Landing Road.
Apparently, the traffic and the noise have prompted some nearby citizens to voice concerns.
As a result, Virginia Beach City Manager Patrick Duhaney has sent a letter to the State Secretary of Veteran and Defense Affairs Carlos Hopkins.
In the letter, Duhaney says Virginia Beach is honored to have been chosen as the location for the center.
But he goes on to say, "Nearby neighbors are concerned with the location of construction trailers, equipment, and employee parking in close proximity to the adjacent single-family residences...The location of these items, some closer than 10 feet to the residences, significantly impacts the adjoining residential parcels."
Two residents said they are unbothered by the construction.
Several others said the vehicles and the early morning noise are concerning.
In a statement to 13News Now, the Virginia Commissioner of Veterans Services John Maxwell said:
The Virginia Department of Veterans Services thanks the City of Virginia Beach for sharing the concerns expressed by the neighbors of the Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center regarding the arrangement of equipment and materials on the construction site. I personally visited the site last week, and our project team is currently reviewing the concerns and will work expeditiously to ensure that the impact to residents in the surrounding neighborhood is mitigated to the fullest extent.
We greatly appreciate our partnership with the City of Virginia Beach and especially appreciate the welcome we have received from area residents. We look forward to the opening of the Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center in 2022 and to fulfilling a long standing need for a state veterans long-term care facility in Hampton Roads.