Kraus-Anderson breaks ground for VA clinic at Wangard Partners’ Olympia Fields

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Milwaukee-based real estate company Wangard Partners announced May 12 it broke ground for a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) community-based outpatient clinic at the Olympia Fields redevelopment project in Oconomowoc.

The new facility will serve as many as 5,000 veterans in the area reaching Waukesha, Walworth, Washington, Jefferson and Dodge Counties, Wangard officials said.

Kraus-Anderson crews will build the 8,500-square-foot clinic at 1289 Olympia Fields Drive, company officials noted.

The facility will be the VA’s western-most clinic in the Milwaukee region and will offer outpatient services such as primary care, mental health, whole health and women’s health, Wangard officials said.

“The groundbreaking of our new clinic in Oconomowoc furthers our mission of providing world-class care to those who honorably served our country, right where they need it. Located on the western outskirts of our service area, this facility will enable us to better serve thousands of veterans who previously had to travel to Milwaukee to receive care. We understand that many veterans face challenges in accessing the care they need, and this new clinic is a critical step in removing those barriers and providing top-quality care in a more convenient and accessible location,” Milwaukee VA Medical Center Executive Director James McLain said in a statement.

As previously reported by The Daily Reporter, developers announced on March 21 a new VA health care clinic at the Olympia Fields development in Oconomowoc.

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs will lease the VA clinic, Wangard officials said. The medical center will provide medical care and behavioral health services to the region’s veterans, officials added.

“The greater Oconomowoc area, Waukesha County and communities to the west has a higher concentration of veterans. Wisconsin as a state is considered a veteran-friendly state and it has certain benefits such as continuing education for veterans and their families that makes the state very attractive. This clinic is bringing services to the people that live here,” Stu Wangard, the CEO and chairman of Wangard Partners, told The Daily Reporter in an interview.

The clinic took six months of planning with the VA and the city of Oconomowoc and developers aim to have it completed by late 2023, Wangard said. Developers are looking to break ground in the spring when the developer completes a stormwater quality initiative, he added.

Wangard Partners with Brookfield-based engineering firm raSmith want to redevelop 65 acres of the former Olympia Resort after Wangard bought the property in 2018.