VNA breaks ground for new Lynn building

LYNN – The All Care Visiting Nurse Association broke ground Tuesday for its new $10 million headquarters in downtown Lynn, adjacent to the commuter rail and bus station.The event, attended by more than 100 well-wishers, community leaders and city officials, marked the start of construction of a four-story building at the corner of Broad and Market streets, directly across from North Shore Community College.The building was designed by TK&A Architects of Cambridge to house the organization’s expanding operations. Those employed at the site will coordinate and expedite services for skilled nursing, hospice care, rehabilitation therapies and private duty services, according to All Care Executive Director Shawn Potter.”We will be bringing 75 new employees to the building as we consolidate our Wakefield office, the office in City Hall Square, and those above the Century Bank,” he said. “The plan is for construction to start in a couple of weeks and have the project completed by November 2011.”Potter said All Care VNA’s board of directors was adamant about staying in Lynn. “There was discussion about whether we could move out of Lynn, buy cheaper land someplace to build on, and of course we could, but the commitment on the part of the board was outstanding,” he said.Potter noted that at least three of the 25 members have been on the board for a half century.”As an organization, we have been here in Lynn since 1911, or 100 years, and we want to be here for another 100 years,” he said.All Care VNA has leased 100 parking spaces at the commuter rail garage for 30 years from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to provide parking for its employees. The organization has further agreed not to operate a cafeteria so that its employees who do not bring a bagged lunch will patronize downtown restaurants.”It’s really a beautiful location and finishes off that whole corner with the college and Eastern Bank.Berry, a division of Suffolk Construction, will erect the office building. It will have a footprint of 11,500 square feet on a 46,000-square-foot parcel.All Care VNA has 640 employees, 275 of whom are Lynn residents.