Topeka VA area selected for new Kansas veterans home, contingent on federal funding

Topeka could soon be the site of a new veterans home serving northeast Kansas.

Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday that land adjacent to the Colmery-O’Neil U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center was selected for the new veterans home.

"As the daughter of a Purple Heart recipient, I am committed to honoring the service of Kansas’ veterans and their families," Kelly said in a statement. "Kansas increased our investment in and relentlessly pursued federal funding for this project, and we are now one step closer to ensuring service members across the region have the support and care they deserve."

The veterans home will have 72 private rooms divided into "households" and "neighborhoods" intended to increase community while providing services. One household comprised of 18 beds will be a dedicated memory care unit.

Construction of the home is contingent on federal VA funding. The governor's office said it expects to learn this spring whether the VA will fund the project in fiscal year 2024 through its construction grant program.

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The cost of the project is estimated at $49 million. The state has already secured $17.2 million in matching funds required by the VA.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., vowed to help secure federal funding. Moran is the top Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committees.

"The Topeka area is home to many of our nation’s heroes, and this new veterans home will strengthen an already strong veteran community," Moran said in a statement. "With close proximity to Colmery-O’Neil, veterans will have access to quality VA health care and resources. I will work with the VA to help secure the needed resources to complete this home."

The Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs Office operates veterans homes in Winfield in south-central Kansas and Fort Dodge in western Kansas, but has no such facility to serve to population centers of northeast Kansas.

In 2021, the Legislature passed the bipartisan HB 2021, which Kelly signed, to authorize issuance of bonds for construction of a state veterans home in northeast Kansas. The legislation envisioned, but did not mandate, that the facility be built in Douglas, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Shawnee or Wyandotte counties.

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The Topeka location was chosen from among six properties considered, with the decision made after engaging stakeholders and scoring the options, the governor's office said. The other locations weren't identified.

"After much deliberation, our panel chose Topeka foremost because of its centralized location to better support our Veteran population in NE Kansas, but also because of its proximity to VA services, medical care, and local amenities that will help Kansas veterans feel at home," said retired Brig. Gen. William Turner, the director of the commission, in a statement. "We're looking forward to continuing to move these plans forward and see this project come to fruition."