SYRACUSE — Nascentia Health, which specializes in home health-care services, on Sept. 19 formally opened its new operational headquarters at 1050 W. Genesee St. in Syracuse in an event that included an open house, speakers, and a ribbon cutting. 

Nascentia Health is the rebranded name of the organization that involves the “unification” of VNA Homecare, VNA Homecare Options, Home Aides of Central New York and all their respective affiliated organizations and foundations.

The $11 million construction project culminated with the demolition of the previous building and the completion of the parking lot and exterior courtyard this past August. The organization began operations in the new space this past January.

Nascentia Health works to be the “premier” home and community-based health and home-care system in the regions it serves, Kate Rolf, president and CEO of Nascentia Health, said to open her remarks at the grand opening event. 

“To accomplish that, we knew we needed this new home that would give us not only the space we need but allow us to operate more efficiently,” said Rolf. 

The Hayner Hoyt Corporation of Syracuse was the general contractor on the project. Syracuse–based King + King Architects designed the structure. Rolf also noted the contributions of Sedgwick Business Interiors for furniture design and products, along with Signage Systems of the town of Onondaga.

Nascentia’s former headquarters, built in 1921, was operating “beyond its intended lifespan and no longer met the system’s needs,” Nascentia said in a Sept. 20 news release.

Rolf told CNYBJ in an Oct. 9, 2017 article that the building had a “lot of structural issues.” In the same story about the organization’s plan for the new building, Rolf noted that the organization spent more than $200,000 to stabilize the structure. It had also sought total repair estimates. “It will cost just as much to fix this building [as it would] to get a new one and tear this one down,” Rolf said at the time.

In his remarks at the Sept. 19 grand opening, David Johnson, a member of the Nascentia Health board of directors, recalled the building assessment on the organization’s former 32,000-square-foot home, noting that the structure “had a few issues.” 

“Even if we renovated the existing building, it was going to be too small, so we knew we had to build this new building,” said Johnson, who is also a partner in King + King Architects.

Nascentia Health, which has a service area of 48 counties, has more than 550 employees.

The new 47,000-square-foot building includes an expanded lobby and waiting area, public and private elevators, community room, staff gym, outpatient physical therapy and occupational therapy suite, expanded eldercare social day program, exterior courtyard, and additional parking. Nascentia Health also allocated space for community use.