WASHINGTON — If only it were the $64,000 question.
But more than a decade after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs began plotting a new hospital in Aurora, no one — not the VA, not Congress, not even the contractor — knows how much the facility will cost once it’s finished.
The only certainty is that the final price tag will smash the project’s initial estimate of $328 million. Less certain, but likely, is that the total cost ultimately will crack the $1 billion mark.
But specifics have been elusive.
That point was punctuated Wednesday when the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs met to get an update on the Aurora facility and three other VA projects that have busted their budgets and missed their deadlines.
Much of the meeting was a rehash of past hearings, with lawmakers admonishing the VA for the construction delays and VA officials promising to do better.
But what stood out was the continued lack of certainty on the Aurora project’s final price.
“I understand that everyone is anxious to know what it will cost to complete the project,” said VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson. “Right now, we don’t know. The (Army) Corps (of Engineers) doesn’t know, and (contractor) Kiewit-Turner doesn’t know.”
What’s more, Gibson couldn’t give a firm timeline on when the VA would come up with an answer.
“(It) will be determined over the course of the next several months,” he said. “And we’ll work closely with Congress to develop the best options for funding completion.”
Last year, an executive with Kiewit-Turner, the project’s contractor, predicted the facility would open in 2017 — although even that date is open for debate.
Much of the overall uncertainty stems from the drama that has stalked the Aurora project since its inception.
In 1999, the VA initially considered sharing the facility with University of Colorado Hospital. That plan, however, fell apart by late 2004, and the VA ultimately decided to go it alone.
In the years following, the Aurora project seesawed for various reasons. According to a report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office, which acts as the investigative arm of Congress, the VA then had to spend time figuring out a budget for the hospital, as well as the right location.
Other “unanticipated events” popped up too.
“For example, VA officials at the Denver project site discovered they needed to eradicate asbestos and replace faulty electrical systems from pre-existing buildings,” GAO investigators noted. “They also discovered and removed a buried swimming pool and found a mineral-laden underground spring that forced them to continually treat and pump water from the site, which impacted plans to build an underground parking structure.”
The litany of problems reached a climax last month when a federal board ruled the VA had breached its contract with Kiewit-Turner. The decision prompted Kiewit-Turner to threaten to walk away from the unfinished facility.
The two sides ultimately agreed to a short-term deal to keep the project going, but a long-term agreement remains elusive — one factor contributing to the unknown cost.
“We’re just in a horrible situation right now,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, after the hearing.
Mark K. Matthews: 202-662-8907, mmatthews@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mkmatthews
