When St. Johns County’s old health and human services building — previously the Flagler West Hospital — in St. Augustine, Fla., reached the end of its useful life, the county commission “could’ve put $4.5 million worth of Band-Aids on the building or we could’ve invested in a brand-new facility. We chose the latter,” St. Johns County Commissioner Rachael Bennett says.
Former St. Johns County Commissioner and now state Rep. Cyndi Stevenson called the 1960s structure “an energy hog,” while a staff report called it “functionally obsolete.” Even if brought up to code, the aged complex still would have needed major continual maintenance.