Syracuse VA Medical Center, Community Living Center
AE Works partnered with the Syracuse VAMC to completely redesign and renovate the existing 8th floor, 21,000-GSF Community Living Center (CLC). Supporting the VA’s focus on patient-centered care, the project transitioned the unit from multi-resident rooms housing three or four patients to modern single and double rooms, reducing the total bed count from 47 to 41 to prioritize privacy, comfort, and a "just like home" environment.
Location:
Syracuse, New York
Size:
21,000-GSF, $5.15 million
Services:
Architecture
Interior Design
Building Systems Engineering
Planning + Project Services
Year / Status
2026
Completed
Transforming Clinical Needs into Healing Spaces
- Early Stakeholder Integration: The design team engaged early with VAMC leadership and nursing staff to establish core programming goals, set project success factors, and align on delivering a superior living space for veterans.
- Space & Layout Optimization: Within a tight building footprint, AE Works balanced VA CLC design guidelines with local constraints, maximizing resident room square footage while documenting design deviations where spatial limitations required customized solutions.
- Budget-Conscious Strategy: To align with the $5.15M estimated construction budget, the design strategically retained and integrated recently renovated patient bathrooms into the new layout wherever feasible.
- Comprehensive Infrastructure Upgrade: Designed complete replacements and modernizations for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection/fire alarm, medical gas, nurse call, security, and technology systems tailored to an active inpatient floor.
- Streamlined Communication & Phasing: Maintained a centralized client-comment tracking system for clear decision-making and developed a phased construction plan with VA stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted patient care throughout the renovation.
“The quality of the designs and the work with the VA staff was very good. AE Works was a pleasure to work with.”
- CPARS Ratings "Very Good"
Long-Term Value and Infrastructure Modernization
The transformation significantly enhances patient dignity and care delivery by providing Syracuse veterans with modern, private living accommodations. By carefully phasing construction and integrating hazardous material mitigation including complete abatement of asbestos, PCBs, and other dangerous materials. The project safely modernized the facility’s core MEP/FP infrastructure while allowing the CLC to remain operational and continuously serve its residents.