The Idaho Division of Veterans Services plans to break ground this spring or early summer on a $49 million veteran’s home in Post Falls.

The 83,400-square-foot facility will be located on 7.3 acres of land fronting Lochsa Street, adjacent to Biopol Laboratory and Buck Knives, in the Riverbend Commerce Park. The land was donated to the state by the Jacklin Land Co.

Primary architect Orcutt|Winslow, of Phoenix, is working on the design with Castellaw Kom Architects, of Lewiston, Idaho.

Core Construction, of Boise, and Headwaters Construction Co., of Victor, Idaho, make up the contracting team.

The skilled nursing facility, which will be Idaho’s fourth veterans’ home, will have four wings and a total of 64 private rooms, says Kevin Wallior, of the Idaho Division of Veterans Services.

All wings will have direct access to a central community center, which will include a dining room, multipurpose common spaces, and administrative offices. The facility also will include a common food preparation area, a laundry facility, maintenance and supply areas, a covered pick-up and drop-off area, and parking for 90 vehicles.

Once construction begins, the project is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete, Wallior says.

The goal behind the effort to build the state’s fourth veterans’ home is to enhance veterans’ quality of life by providing a safe, homelike environment, he says.

About $31 million of the cost of the project is being funded through the federal grants allocated in 2019. Idaho is providing a 35% match through the Idaho Division of Veteran Services’ 2020 budget via its Veteran’s Recognition Fund.

The home will be owned by the state of Idaho and operated by the IDVS, while the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs exercises some joint oversight with the IDVS through joint inspections, audits, and record keeping. Under a separate program, the VA provides payments to states for care of eligible veterans in state homes.

Idaho’s other veterans homes are in Lewiston, Boise, and Pocatello. More than 150 state-owned veterans’ homes are operating throughout the U.S.