Veterans around Junction City and Fort Riley have a bigger VA clinic coming. On Monday morning, Oct. 5, officials put shovels in the ground.
VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System broke ground on the future Lt. Gen. Richard J. Seitz Community-Based Outpatient Clinic at 2512 Rucker Road, north of Junction City High School. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, was among the speakers, the JC Post reported.
The VA says the new clinic will be the largest outpatient clinic in its Eastern Kansas system. It will expand the existing primary care and mental health space and offer primary care, mental health, specialty care and ancillary services in a modern, energy-efficient building. The JC Post reported the VA hopes to open it by 2029.
A leased building, not a VA build
Here's the part that matters most to contractors: the VA isn't building this clinic itself. It's leasing it.
In June, the VA announced it had signed a lease for the new Junction City outpatient clinic and said construction and facility preparation are expected to be done by winter 2028. The agency called it a newly leased, appropriately sized, state-of-the-art facility.
"Our mission is to provide world-class health care to our nation's heroes," said Phillip Christy, the VA's chief acquisition officer and principal executive director for the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction. "When a Veteran comes to VA, we must be able to give them the care they deserve, when and where they need it, and this new lease is a critical investment in meeting that mission."
The VA's announcement didn't name the landlord, but the developer lists the project publicly. Guardian Development Group, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business based in Lakewood, Colo., lists itself as developer and lessor of the Junction City VA outpatient clinic, awarded in June 2026. Guardian's project listing describes a building of about 51,000 square feet on 11.22 acres with 300 parking spaces. Federal award records put the total contract value at about $75.7 million.
Junction City is one of four VA leases Guardian says it has won so far in 2026, along with clinics in New Albany, Ind.; Baton Rouge, La.; and Lecanto, Fla. The firm's founder, Steven Vanderhye, is a former deputy director in the VA's Office of Real Property who handled lease executions.
What hasn't been made public is who is actually building it. Guardian is the developer, and no general contractor for the clinic has been announced.
A name with deep local roots
The clinic will keep the name of Lt. Gen. Richard J. Seitz, a decorated Army leader who served 37 years, settled in Junction City after he retired, and stayed closely tied to Fort Riley and the surrounding community. Congress designated the Junction City clinic in his honor in 2014.
Junction City sits right outside Fort Riley, home of the Army's 1st Infantry Division, so the new clinic will serve a community with deep military ties.
Under a lease like this one, a private developer delivers a building that meets the VA's requirements and the agency rents it. The VA says the larger, better-sized space should improve operational efficiency and the overall experience for veterans who come in for care. Guardian says its leadership includes a former VA senior resident engineer and a former federal lease contracting officer.
Why it matters for Contractors
A roughly 51,000-square-foot medical clinic is a big job for the Junction City and Manhattan market. Medical outpatient buildings carry heavy MEP scopes, specialized HVAC and plumbing, low-voltage and IT work, and a lot of interior finish, plus site work for 11 acres and 300 parking spaces. Because this is a private developer's building leased to the VA, the contracting path runs through Guardian Development Group and whatever builder it hires, not through a standard federal construction bid. With the VA expecting construction and facility preparation to wrap by winter 2028, subcontract buyout is likely to move in the coming months. Contractors in Geary and Riley counties who want in should watch for the general contractor announcement and reach out to Guardian directly in the meantime. Subs with health care experience will have the strongest pitch, since clinic work leaves little room for learning on the job.