Lowen was speaking almost literally about the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs’ plans to replace two 70-year-old structures that now house 170 residents, so they can enjoy modern amenities, enabling them to “live with dignity as they age,” according to Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Shapiro and President Joe Biden performed the intervention on March 20, the last day before expiration of contractor bids that were based on an expected waiver of Buy America Build America Act requirements — that, if enforced, would have added an estimated $25 million to the cost, according to Lowen and Mark Griffin, administrative officer for the Bureau of Veterans Homes at Fort Indiantown Gap.

In planning for the project, the bureau had learned from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs about those BABAA requirements, but the DMVA was told to “stand down,” while the VA worked to get approval, Griffin said.

The DMVA did as it was told, but there was “pushback” and a demand for justification from the federal BABAA office, Griffin said.

Breaking ground for the new 200-bed long-term care residential building on the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home campus include (from left) resident Ron Dawson, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Henry Huntley, resident John Servinsky, Gov. Josh Shapiro and resident Tom Rogers. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

The state bureau’s concern was that once the bids expired, there would need to be negotiation with the contractors, and it was certain that prices would rise steeply, due to the need under BABAA to source “iron, steel, manufactured projects and construction materials from the U.S.,” according to Griffin and an item from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Inflation would also come into play, Griffin said.

As time dwindled, the bureau reached out, and on the final day, Shapiro visited Biden in Philadelphia and presented him with a “briefing memo asking for support for the waiver,” Griffin said.

Based on Biden’s influence, the VA secretary granted the waiver, according to Griffin.

The bureau submitted the waiver to the DMVA, which shared it with the Department of General Services, which awarded the contracts, Griffin said.

The Hollidaysburg building is one of only two such proposals to have been granted such a waiver, according to Griffin.

Shapiro told the audience of his and Biden’s efforts, without revealing details.

He spoke to Biden about the importance of the project, Shapiro said.

Biden “personally intervened,” unlocking the federal contribution to the project, according to Shapiro.

That contribution is 65%, according to Griffin.

The state will pay the other 35%.

Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, adjutant general and head of the DMVA, referred to the project issues, also without going into detail.

It has “experienced bumps, struggles and challenges,” Schindler said.

The governor “did all he could to make this project possible,” he added.

Work will begin later this month and take two years.

J.C. Orr is the general contractor.

The building will be three stories, 161,000 square feet, with single and double-occupancy rooms that will accommodate 200 residents, according to a brochure distributed at the news conference.

There will be a dietary department with kitchen, dining rooms on each unit, a community room, a chapel, an activity room, therapy space, a pharmacy, a canteen, a library and a barber-beauty shop, according to the brochure.

Living there will be “more home-style,” Lowen said. “More centered around residents.”

The building will go on the site of the former brick administration building.

The home currently houses skilled nursing and memory care residents in Arnold and Eisenhower halls, Lowen said.

It’s uncertain what will become of those buildings when the residents living in them are transferred to the new facility, Lowen and Griffin said.

MacArthur Hall, where personal care residents live, is undergoing a $10 million renovation, Griffin said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.