The opening of a new VA facility in Butler County has been a long time coming.
Four years ago, ground was broken at Deshon Woods, a site off Route 68 in Butler Township, where the new VA center was supposed to go. However, the VA canceled its lease with Westar Development of Ohio (the company slated to build the facility) after two Westar associates were found to have committed fraud crimes unrelated to the Butler project.
The VA then subsequently awarded the project’s lease to Cambridge Healthcare Solutions, who successfully built the new center at a different site- on North Duffy Road in Center Township.
The Deshon Woods site- which had all the trees cleared and ground grazed in anticipation of the project- has now sat empty and overgrown for years. Last year, a small group of local businessmen bought the property for $1.2 million at a sheriff’s sale. According to the group’s attorney, although there has been no development yet at the site, the group has been considering all options.