[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 38, Volume 2]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 38CFR59.80]

[Page 889-890]
 
            TITLE 38--PENSIONS, BONUSES, AND VETERANS' RELIEF
 
          CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (CONTINUED)
 
PART 59--GRANTS TO STATES FOR CONSTRUCTION OR ACQUISITION OF STATE HOMES--
Table of Contents
 
Sec. 59.80  Amount of grant.

    (a) The total cost of a project (VA and State) for which a grant is 
awarded under this part may not be less than $400,000 and, except as 
provided in paragraph (i) of this section, the total cost of a project 
will not exceed the total cost of new construction. The amount of a 
grant awarded under this part will be the amount requested by the State 
and approved in accordance with this part, not to exceed 65 percent of 
the total cost of the project except that:
    (1) The total cost of a project will not include the cost of space 
that exceeds the maximum allowable space specified in this part, and
    (2) The amount of the grant may be less than 65 percent of the total 
cost of the project if the State accepts less because VA did not have 
sufficient funds to award the full amount of the grant requested.
    (b) The total cost of a project under this part for acquisition of a 
facility may also include construction costs.
    (c) The total cost of a project under this part will not include any 
costs incurred before the date VA sent the State written notification 
that the application in Sec. 59.20 was approved.

[[Page 890]]

    (d) The total cost of a project under this part may include 
administration and production costs, e.g., architectural and engineering 
fees, inspection fees, and printing and advertising costs.
    (e) The total cost of a project under this part may include the cost 
of projects on the grounds of the facility, e.g., parking lots, 
landscaping, sidewalks, streets, and storm sewers, only if they are 
inextricably involved with the construction of the project.
    (f) The total cost of a project under this part may include the cost 
of equipment necessary for the operation of the State home facility. 
This may include the cost of:
    (1) Fixed equipment included in the construction or acquisition 
contract. Fixed equipment must be permanently affixed to the building or 
connected to the heating, ventilating, air conditioning, or other 
service distributed through the building via ducts, pipes, wires, or 
other connecting device. Fixed equipment must be installed during 
construction. Examples of fixed equipment include kitchen and 
intercommunication equipment, built-in cabinets, and cubicle curtain 
rods; and
    (2) Other equipment not included in the construction contract 
constituting no more than 10 percent of the total construction contract 
cost of the project. Other equipment includes: furniture, furnishings, 
wheeled equipment, kitchen utensils, linens, draperies, blinds, electric 
clocks, pictures and trash cans.
    (g) The contingency allowance may not exceed five percent of the 
total cost of the project for new construction or eight percent for 
renovation projects.
    (h) The total cost of a project under this part may not include the 
cost of:
    (1) Land acquisition;
    (2) Maintenance or repair work; or
    (3) Office supplies or consumable goods (such as food, drugs, 
medical dressings, paper, printed forms, and soap) which are routinely 
used in a State home.
    (i) A grant for expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing 
State home, which is on or eligible for inclusion in the National 
Register of Historic Places, for furnishing domiciliary, nursing home, 
or adult day health care to veterans may not be awarded for the 
expansion, remodeling, or alteration of such building if such action 
does not comply with National Historic Preservation Act procedures or if 
the total cost of remodeling, renovating, or adapting such building or 
facility exceeds the cost of comparable new construction by more than 
five percent. If demolition of an existing building or facility on, or 
eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of Historic Places is 
deemed necessary and such demolition action is taken in compliance with 
National Historic Preservation Act procedures, any mitigation cost 
negotiated in the compliance process and/or the cost to professionally 
record the building or facility in the Historic American Buildings 
Survey (HABS), plus the total cost for demolition and site restoration, 
shall be included by the State in calculating the total cost of new 
construction.
    (j) The cost of demolition of a building cannot be included in the 
total cost of construction unless the proposed construction is in the 
same location as the building to be demolished or unless the demolition 
is inextricably linked to the design of the construction project.
    (k) With respect to the final award of a conditionally-approved 
grant, the Secretary may not award a grant for an amount that is 10 
percent more than the amount conditionally-approved.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 101, 501, 1710, 1742, 8105, 8131-8137)