The East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) will break ground on its new $20.7 million facility at 20 Maverick Square in East Boston on Monday at 11:00 a.m.
The new, 49,000 square-foot 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, according to a statement.
It is the first ARRA-funded project to break ground in the U.S., the organizers said.
"Community health centers are on the front lines of our Commonwealth’s healthcare 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 Gov. Deval 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 Boston Mayor Thomas 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."
Consistent with the intent of ARRA, the $12 million in stimulus funds for this $20 million project will help to create more than 150 construction jobs and more than 50 permanent health care jobs.
The new Maverick Square facility is expected to be completed in just over a year. 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 building will be LEED certified and fully energy efficient. The architect for the project is isgenuity LLC of Needham and the project manager is Suffolk Construction of Boston.
"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 Capuano, co-founder and co-chair of the Community Health Centers Caucus in the House.
