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Judge won't halt work at proposed VA site

A federal judge won’t halt work at the site of Butler’s proposed VA Butler Healthcare center after Oxford Development on Tuesday withdrew its request for an injunction.

In an order announcing the decision, Federal Claims Court Judge Victor Wolski says any choice by defendant Cambridge Healthcare Solutions to close on the Herold property off Duffy Road in Center Township “should be considered a voluntary act.”

Wolski said that if the company does buy the property before an August deadline, it would factor into any ruling he makes on “equities” once the case is decided.

Wolski’s order frees Cambridge to go forward with the land purchase and do site permitting work.

On July 2 Cambridge said in a filing that it intended to finalize buying the Herold property “within the week,” which would allow it to obtain permits to begin work on the site.

Other aspects of Oxford’s suit, in which it asks Wolski to order the government to revisit its bidding process and award the company monetary damages and “other relief,” tied to its bidding costs and legal fees, will continue.

In his order Tuesday, Wolski also moved the next hearing to Aug. 25.

Oxford, the plaintiff in the case, filed a bid protest in Federal Claims Court on June 26, saying the government improperly handled the $127 million project’s second round of bidding.

In it’s suit, Oxford claims the government, among other things, failed to give Oxford a chance to rework its bid for the project after the company acquired an option on the Deshon Woods property off Route 68 in Butler Township.

The company acquired an interest in the land after the project’s first developer, Westar Development Corp., came under investigation and ultimately had its contract terminated in August 2013.

The VA subsequently awarded the project’s 20-year lease to Cambridge, and moved the health care center’s site to Center Township.

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