While the Veterans Administration scandal boils on the President’s desk, there is some pleasant VA news connected to Ave Maria. The VA is planning to build a VA nursing home in southern Florida and several counties have submitted site proposals to the state’s site selection committee.

We learned last month that Collier County was proposing 2 sites, both in Ave Maria. Today we learned a few more things. Here is a summary:

1. The nursing home cannot be in a hurricane evacuation zone.

2. Lee County did not have any project-ready land available that was not in a hurricane evacuation zone, so they didn’t submit a proposal.

3. Previously the state VA identified Collier and Lee counties as those most in need of a nursing home (that means we’re the only such county still in the running).

4. The site selection committee will visit Ave Maria on June 23.

5. Marion, Putnam, St. Lucie, Polk and Manatee counties also submitted site proposals.

6. The new VA nursing home would be Florida’s seventh.

7. The project would cost almost $50 million in government funds to build.

8. The project would bring about 300 jobs to the chosen area.

9. The construction process could start as early as 2015.

10. Ave Maria Development Company would donate the land, which would be near either one of the town’s two entrances.

11. The Collier County site proposal included supporting letters from Ave Maria University (with its new nursing major), Edison State College, Florida State University’s College of Medicine program in Immokalee, Hodges University, Nova Southeastern University and other schools that can supply workers in medical-related fields.

This project seems to be another instance that demonstrates how good it is for Ave Maria to have such a savvy, experienced and well connected developer, Barron Collier Companies, at the helm.

The main source for this story is the Naples Daily News website, but the story is behind a paywall so we aren’t providing a link here.