Valley nonprofit could get new home

WASILLA — Officials at the Mat-Su Health Foundation are considering building a new 30,000-square-foot headquarters for the organization, according to its website.

The foundation was unwilling to make many details public given the early phase of the project, but said the move was being made in part at the request of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, according to an email from foundation spokeswoman Robin Minard. A Request For Proposal describing the project has been available on the organization’s website since May 2.

“We are presently housed in space that belongs to Mat-Su Regional Center, and they have expressed desire to use the space for other purposes,” Minard wrote. “In exchange, they are in the process of giving the foundation the land up on which to build.”

For now, officials are looking for a place to house the foundation’s personnel and staff. However, they’re also considering potentially including meeting space for local residents and organizations to hold meetings, space for a community resource center, and space for a volunteer hub intended to match volunteers with community organizations.

Mat-Su Borough property records show two undeveloped parcels owned by the near the intersection of Crusey Street and Bogard Road in Wasilla, where the Foundation is hoping to build, according to Minard.

More details could be made available in the future, once more concrete plans are determined, Minard wrote.

“The exact size and scope of the building will be determined through a discovery process facilitated by the architects and will include input from key stakeholders,” Minard wrote. “When that phase of the project is complete, more specific information will be announced.”

The Mat-Su Health Foundation has been the name of the former nonprofit Valley Hospital Association (VHA) since 2005, according to the organization’s website. The VHA was incorporated in 1948 to build and operate the Valley Hospital in Palmer. In 2003, the VHA entered into a partnership with private corporation Triad Hospitals to raise capital for the construction of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Community Health Systems acquired Triad Hospitals in 2007. The foundation distributes about $5 million in hospital profits in the form of grants to community organizations and local governments, according to the web site.

More information is available online at www.healthymatsu.org.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.