PRESCOTT – The whine of backhoes and bulldozers on Friday, May 16, created an apropos symphony for a long-awaited day of promise for northern Arizona veterans.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs topped the list of federal, state and local dignitaries invited to celebrate the launch of construction for the $41 million Fort Whipple apartment complex on the Prescott VA campus.

All snags aside, Hobbs said the groundbreaking at what is officially known as the Northern Arizona VA Health Care System represents to her the “true spirit of Arizona,” one that recognizes the need to ensure the life dignity of those willing to protect the freedoms enjoyed by their community neighbors.

Standing on the verandah of one of the six, early-1900s Fort Whipple officer quarters soon to be refurbished into one- and two-bedroom apartments for aging, homeless and at-risk veterans, Hobbs verbally applauded the persistence of so many to make this novel, supportive housing project a reality. The Fort Whipple officer quarters’ renovations into 15 one-bedroom, one-bath apartments and eight two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments will be combined with 80 more one-bedroom, one-bath apartments on a three-acre adjacent parcel on the northwest corner of the campus. Those units will be housed in a three-story complex with elevators. The refurbished homes will be for those tenants who do not need elevators.

This new housing community partnership between the federal VA, U.S. VETS Prescott and its development partner, the Arizona division of Gorman & Company, “will be life-changing,” Hobbs declared. Most of the prospective tenants will be eligible for federal housing subsidies awarded, specifically, for this project.

The federal VA Enhanced Use Lease project is one of a few across the country, yet unique as it incorporates preservation of federal and state historic properties on tribal land.

In January 2020, U.S. VETS Prescott and Gorman filed a competitive bid with the federal VA to build what then was proposed as a $28 million, nonprofit/private development project. Upon the signing of the federal VA 75-year, renewable lease, U.S. VETS Prescott and Gorman leaders anticipated they might be handing out keys to their new tenants in a year or two.

The aftermath of COVID shutdowns combined with bureaucratic and funding complexities, including a 17-month wrestle to obtain a needed intergovernmental agreement for water rights and meet city and county development regulations, stretched the project’s timeline. The project was further complicated by the fact that every decision required multiple agency involvements, given it is on federal and tribal land, with parts in the city of Prescott’s jurisdiction and others in Yavapai County. The escalation of costs and complex financing formula that includes federal and state tax credits also needed to be arranged to meet extended construction deadlines.

With construction now underway, the expectation is that come January and June of next year U.S. VETS Prescott will be able to deliver keys for what is likely will be the chosen tenants “forever homes,” leaders said.

As of last year’s homeless counts, U.S. VETS Prescott determined there were some 104 homeless veterans in northern Arizona. This project provides 103 permanent, supportive housing units to that very demographic.

Beyond Hobbs, nine other dignitaries shared their awe over what they described as “persistence,” “perseverance” and “collaboration” of so many because of a deep-seated belief that no person who donned a uniform should ever be left behind — on a battlefield or in the place they choose to call home.

Sharing her own family’s connection to these historic grounds, Hobbs said she ended up in Arizona because her grandfather, who contracted tuberculosis during World War II, ended up a patient in the medical facilities created to treat veterans when Fort Whipple was no longer protecting the frontier.

Event emcee Gorman & Company Arizona Market President Sally Schwenn said she was “thrilled” to have Hobbs and so many dignitaries present to celebrate this long-awaited feat. She said it was a day to celebrate giving veterans what they most deserve — dignity through safe, affordable housing where they can access health care and other supports “that honors their (military) service.”

“This groundbreaking signifies more than the beginning of construction — it marks the continuation of a promise: to fulfill our mission to prevent and end veteran homelessness,” declared U.S. VETS Prescott Executive Director Bryan Campbell, a 20-year career Marine who served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With the commitment of a community who reveres its veterans, Campbell said this new housing complex will be a place of pride for every veteran tenant. Through shared resources of a generous community, Campbell said his agency will be able to provide “a beautiful amphitheater, peaceful walking paths and many other amenities designed to provide comfort and tranquility to the veterans who will some call this place home.”
The agency hopes to also be able to obtain dedicated transportation for their residents to access all the medical and related services available to them on the VA campus.

Campbell offered many thanks to Hobbs and other state leaders for their outreach for this veteran project, and others he anticipates that will come in the future. He, too, paid tribute to Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe President Robert Ogo.

“You remind us that where we build matters — and how we build, with respect and integrity, matters even more.”

To the veterans who in the next year will become the first Fort Whipple tenants, Campbell reminded them that this is all a tribute of love for them.

“This is your home; a place of peace, of dignity, of safety; a place where you are surrounded by care, community, and the deep gratitude of a nation that will never forget your service.”

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