ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — An empty lot on Inman Road near State Road 16 will soon be the new home of the St. Augustine Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, at least for now.
The temporary move comes two days after Congressman Ron DeSantis sent a letter to acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson asking what the solution is to make sure service isn't interrupted.
Veteran Terry McGee said he won't be satisfied until his local VA clinic finds a permanent location.
"It's not surprising that the federal government has been dragging on it," said McGee.
The temporary fix came after a St. Johns County Commission meeting Wednesday. According to county spokesperson Michael Ryan, the county has been in talks with the VA to come up with a solution.
"We have a verbal agreement from the veterans administration to move to that location as least temporarily until they have a permanent location identified," said Ryan.
The current building, which houses the VA and the county's health department on U.S. 1, now belongs to Lowe's. The county sold it to the home improvement store more than a year ago for about $8.5 million, putting the property back on the tax roll.
Meanwhile, the county is building a multi-million dollar building on San Sebastian View and has offered to house the VA clinic, but Ryan said they still haven't received a firm answer.
"We understand the veterans administration has a lengthy federal process they're forced to go through in order to move and we respect that. However, our highest priority is ensuring there is no disruption of services," said Ryan.
It is still unclear when the VA clinic will start moving its facilities, but they have to be out of their current building by April 1 of next year or face a penalty. After the cutoff date, if the VA has not vacated the building it'll have to pay Lowe's $50,000 a month for the first six months and $100,000 for every month after that.