Construction of VA clinic underway in Montville Township

by Melissa Martin

Ground has been broken in Montville Township for a new 20,000-square-foot veterans services clinic, expected to open by late spring or early summer 2027,

The facility, which will be located on a 70-acre parcel near the intersection of state Route 3 and Cobblestone Park Drive, is being constructed by Veterans Administration Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, will bring primary care, behavioral health, optometry, podiatry, laboratory services and more closer to home for more than 4,300 veterans living in and around Medina County.

“Today’s event is more than the beginning of a construction project, it represents a commitment to those who have worn our nation’s uniform and sacrificed in service to our nation,” Rob Jastron, the assistant director for Northeast Ohio Healthcare, which services 147,000 vets throughout Northeast Ohio, said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “Now many organizations have halted expansion projects and construction projects, but we have remained steadfast and on course and accelerated in our plan. We are very lucky for that.”

Despite being the fastest-growing county in Northeast Ohio, Medina County has never had its own veterans services clinic or hospital. Currently, veterans have to drive to Akron, Mansfield or Parma to receive care.

Jastron said the VA central office granted approval four years ago for the new location, which has the potential to expand access to healthcare services for roughly 25,000 veterans in Medina and its surrounding counties. It took more than two years for the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System to find a site.

To make way for the outpatient clinic, Medina County Commissioners approved a subdivision replat this spring. The measure passed 2-0, with commissioners Stephen Hambley and Colleen Swedyk voting in favor and Commissioner Aaron Harrison abstaining.

The replat created two buildable sublots, an open-space block, a future development block and a new private roadway called Alder Lane that will be constructed within the planned Cobblestone Crossings development. Planning documents identify sublot 40 as the future site for the VA clinic.

County officials previously approved an agreement involving Cobblestone Crossings LLC and the Medina County Port Authority intended to accelerate infrastructure work tied to the project. The arrangement allowed the county to move ahead with plat approvals before Alder Lane and related drainage and stormwater infrastructure are completed.

According to the county resolution, the Medina County Planning Commission granted a variance permitting the signing and recording of the replat prior to construction of the roadway and stormwater systems. To reduce the risks associated with that approach, the Medina County Port Authority executed a financial guarantee agreement with the developer on May 6.

County officials said the guarantee protects the project in the event of construction delays or defaults.

Planning staff documents state the developer faced a May 1 contractual deadline to convey the property to the VA and warned that requiring full road construction before plat approval could have stalled the project.

County planning records describe the property as vacant agricultural land within Montville Township’s Mixed-Use Overlay District, a zoning classification adopted in 2024 to encourage mixed-use development, utility expansion and economic development while limiting annexation.

Veterans interested in receiving healthcare services in Montville Township’s VA outpatient clinic are encouraged enter the system early by contacting the VA. This way, veterans can begin receiving care closer to home starting day the facility opens.