PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — Downtown Prestonsburg will soon be transformed, as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has announced plans to build a new VA Clinic on the old Prestonsburg Elementary property.
The VA announced it has awarded a contract for the construction of the new facility. The new clinic will be 13,500 square feet with 100 parking spaces, which is nearly double the current clinic’s 7,000 square feet. Services at the new clinic will also expand to include three primary care teams, women’s health, optometry, mental health counseling, telehealth, imaging, lab services and a pharmacy.
The clinic will be one of four managed by the Hershel “Woody” Williams VA Medical Center, in Huntington, W.Va.
“We think the number of veterans using VA for their care in this area of Eastern Kentucky will increase with the passage of the PACT Act and so we are building future capacity,” says Brian Nimmo, the director of the VA Medical Center. “We’ve already seen an upswing in demand at the current Prestonsburg location and want to act now to provide veterans expanded services for their lifetimes.”
The clinic will engulf the bulk of the old Prestonsburg Elementary property, which has sat vacant for years following its demolition in 2011.
Walgreen’s recently purchased a small lot on the front of the property facing North Lake Drive. The VA Clinic will sit on a “flag lot,” with a driveway running from North Lake Drive between Walgreen’s and city hall to the larger property at the rear along North Highland Avenue.
The VA says construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2025 and last about 16 months. The new clinic is expected to open in the summer of 2026.
The current VA clinic on Route 321 near Highlands ARH Medical Center will remain open and fully operational until the new facility opens.
