COQUILLE, OR-The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust has invested $22 million to build a new medical facility here. The extension to the adjacent Coquille Valley Hospital has been designated a “critical access” facility due to the need for medical care in this rural community, according to a prepared statement.
The construction project, which will be 100% union-built and create approximately 225 constructions jobs, is the first project funded by the HIT that will utilize Build America Bonds. The bonds were introduced in 2009 as part of President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create jobs and stimulate the economy, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.
The new 60,000-square-foot, three-story structure will have 16 beds and house primary medical departments including surgery, obstetrics, therapy, laboratory, a pharmacy, an emergency room as well as administrative and support offices. The project's total development cost is $30 million.
“I'm very pleased that union pension dollars are helping improve the quality of healthcare services for families in Oregon, which is my home state,” says Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer and a member of the HIT Board of Trustees. “The HIT investment will generate much-needed jobs for local union construction workers and the new hospital will help increase access to life-saving medical services for the residents of Oregon’s beautiful Coquille Valley.”
Coquille Valley Hospital first opened its doors in 1970 and has continued to expand to better serve the growing population of this timber and farming community in southwestern Oregon, according to a prepared statement. The Coquille Valley Hospital District was certified as a Medicare “critical access hospital” under federal law in 2003. CAHs serve rural areas that would not otherwise have access to emergency and certain other types of medical services.
HIT investment officer Chris Shaw says the HIT is excited about utilizing the Build America Bonds. “This is the HIT's first project in Oregon, and we look forward to participating in the President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act program,” Shaw says. “This project is a win-win because it will bring needed medical care to the community, while creating jobs and stimulating the local economy.”
The union construction jobs generated by the project put the HIT on track to achieve its goal of generating 10,000 union construction jobs by the spring of this year through the investment of union pension capital. The HIT's Construction Jobs Initiative is 90% of the way to its 10,000-job goal. To date, the HIT has committed over $695 million for 29 projects representing nearly 9,000 union construction jobs and $1.5 billion of development for communities across the country.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
