CENTER TWP — Work on a proposed new Department of Veterans Affairs health center is on hold again.

A stop work order was issued in response to a protest that was filed with the U.S. Government Accountability Office by an unsuccessful bidder on the project, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly said in a statement Friday.

“Today’s news is consistent with this project’s turbulent record, and I am certainly concerned by this notification,” said Kelly, R-3rd, of Butler.

The stop work order doesn’t mean the contract is canceled, only that it is on hold for review of the protest

Cambridge Healthcare Solutions PA, LP received a contract Dec. 31 from the VA to build the 168,000 square-foot center on North Duffy Road.

The center was selected for that site out of four considered locations, including two in Butler Township.

It’s the second time work has been stopped on the proposed project.

The VA canceled its first $75 million lease with Westar Development of Akron, Ohio in August 2013. That developer was to build the center adjacent to the existing VA campus at the Deshon Woods site between New Castle Road and Route 68 in Butler Township.

However, the VA claimed the developer misrepresented itself during the bidding process. An official with the company also was sentenced on federal charges of fraud unrelated to the Butler project.

The Deshon Woods site was again considered by the VA with a different developer.

The Oxford Development Co. told Butler Township Commissioners in September it reached a deal to buy the 15.9-acre property where it wanted to build the new center.

Oxford on Jan. 26 filed a bid protest against the VA, according to the Government Accountability Office dockets.

A decision on the case, which is being handled by GOA attorney Eric Ransom, is expected May 6.

No other information on the docket was available.

Genevieve Billia, a spokeswoman for the VA, last month said the lease was awarded to Cambridge for more than just financial reasons.

“The lease award was made on the basis of providing the best value to the government, which involves evaluating an offerer’s price and technical proposal, both of which were weighted equally,” she said in an e-mail.

Billia said Cambridge Healthcare’s past performance, the planned operation and maintenance of the facility, the architectural concept and building design all were considered important factors in the decision.

She added the North Duffy Road site “provided good road frontage, access to off-site amenities and the availability of public utilities.”

The lease with Cambridge is for 20 years.

Billia said the VA would not pay rent or operating expenses for the first 14 months of the deal. It would pay about $7.1 in the second year, and about $8.4 million per year for the remainder of the lease.

Cambridge had 31 months to build the structure from the time of the bid award. Officials with the company told Center Township officials last month that they expected to begin construction this fall.

Butler Township Commissioner Joe Hasychak said he learned of the stop order Friday afternoon.

Hasychak said Butler Township officials have been against the VA’s proposed move to Center Township.

“We think it’s the wrong location,” he said. “We were very disappointed that they moved the project after they selected our site. A lot of work was done there. We had a beautiful park there.”

Westar, before its lease was canceled, had cut down trees and started to develop the Deshon Woods site that was to become home to a three-story, 168,000 square-foot building.

Hasychak said the proposed site in Center Township lacks a state road and public utilities.

“We have nothing against Center Township’s people,” he said. “We just think it’s the wrong site. If it goes there, so be it.”

Ken Frenchak, a Center Township supervisor, said he was unaware of the stop work order until Friday evening.

“If this was filed (Jan. 26), why did it take until (Friday) for anyone to make an announcement?” he asked. “Again, we’re blindsided by this.”

Frenchak said the site on North Duffy Road fits the needs for the facility and development there matches the township’s comprehensive plan.

“The whole development sits within our vision,” he said.

Frenchak said utilities like sewage are not on the property now, but said the developer can tap into everything needed.

“It’s nothing that hasn’t been thought of,” he said.

Hasychak said the VA did not do its due diligence before selecting Westar as a developer for the center in 2012, and he questioned the lack of information available about the latest selection process.

“We can’t get any information out of them,” he said.

Kelly, who previously criticized the VA’s decision making process for the center, said he will continue to look into the situation.

“My colleagues in Congress and I have an abiding responsibility to make sure that our veterans and the taxpayers are properly defended,” he said in his statement.

“These are equally important commitments that I take very seriously. My office will continue to meet its obligation to provide rigorous oversight and investigation as needed to ensure that the reforms called for by the (VA Office of Inspector General) are made real.”

The new center will expand VA Butler Healthcare’s outpatient services to meet increasing demand and will include primary care, specialty care, dental, lab, pathology, radiology, mental health, and ancillary and diagnostic services.