Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach and other regional dignitaries broke ground Monday on a new Veterans Administration outpatient clinic that is expected to serve 20,000 veterans when it opens in May 2014.

The 80,000-square foot facility, located south of the intersection of Fillmore and Centennial streets, will consolidate programs from the Veterans Affairs offices at 25 N. Spruce St. and 320 E. Fontanero St., as well as some medical services at the Air Force Academy.

Officials hope that the center will provide “one stop shopping” for local veterans whose needs have not been met at a single location.

The center will feature expanded audiology, physical therapy, optometry and mental health services and include a Veteran Benefit Administration office.

The center is expected to cost “just under $20 million” to complete, said VA spokesman Dan Warvi.

The event included a keynote speech by William Schoenhard, deputy undersecretary for operations and management at the VA.

“It’s time to build a beautiful, new, centrally located, state-of-the-art facility,” said Schoenhard, who toured the Spruce and Fontanero facilities earlier in the day.

“They’ve earned these benefits,” he said of those who will use the clinic. “We owe it to our veterans to make their lives as meaningful, fulfilling and happy as possible.”

Among the ceremony’s 250 attendees was Keith LaMee Jr., the state’s vice president of the American Legion Riders of Colorado.

LaMee is pushing for the center to be named after Pfc. Floyd K. Lindstrom, a Colorado Springs Medal of Honor recipient who was killed in action during World War II.

Naming the center after Lindstrom would take an act of Congress, said LaMee, who handed out flyers urging fellow attendees to contact Colorado Springs Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn.

“The American Legion will always make sure our fallen comrades are not forgotten,” LaMee said.

LaMee, a disabled Army veteran, said he expects to use the new clinic when it opens.

“It’s great to see they’re doing something to make it easier for veterans to get care instead of having to drive up to Denver,” said LaMee, whogoes to Denver to receive treatment for knee and back issues.

The three-story clinic will sit on 18 acres sold by The Medical Center LLP to Colorado Springs VA LLC, said Stanton T. Kensinger, who represented the sellers in the transaction.

The facility is being leased to the VA.

Kensinger referred to the deal as “one of the most positive land transactions that has happened in our city in some time.”

“It will be a huge draw for the neighborhood and for I-25 and Filmore,” he said.

Mayor Steve Bach, center, and other dignitaries break ground Monday at the new Veterans Administration outpatient clinic at Fillmore and Centennial. The clinic is expected to serve more than 20,000 veterans. (Erin Prater, The Gazette) Photo by