In January 2026, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it would spend $4.8 billion in fiscal year 2026 to modernize, repair, and improve VA healthcare facilities nationwide through its Non-Recurring Maintenance program — the largest single-year NRM investment in the department's history. By the close of the second quarter, VA had obligated more than $1 billion of that total, with additional project awards continuing through fiscal year end in September.

For contractors operating in federal healthcare construction environments, this is a significant market signal. For the VA medical facilities that serve veterans across New England, it represents a concentrated period of infrastructure activity that will continue through 2026 and into the next fiscal year.

Robert Carrigg's Manchester, NH-based construction firm has completed renovation and construction work at VA medical facilities across New England for more than two decades. What follows is an objective look at what this investment wave is, what it funds, and what it demands from the contractors who do it.

What the NRM Program Actually Funds

Non-Recurring Maintenance is a category of federal spending that covers one-time infrastructure improvements to existing facilities. It is distinct from routine maintenance — which is budgeted and managed separately — and from major construction, which requires congressional authorization for projects above $30 million. NRM occupies the operational middle ground: significant in scope, but executed within individual facilities rather than as new construction.

The FY2026 NRM investment breaks down as follows, per VA's announcement:

• $2.8 billion to repair and upgrade outdated infrastructure systems in VA medical facilities

• $1 billion for maintenance and modernization of electronic health record systems and facility preparation for future EHR updates

• $500 million for major building upgrades including elevators, electrical systems, and boiler plants

• $500 million for medical center modernizations

These are the categories of work that keep VA medical facilities operational, code-compliant, and capable of delivering the quality of care veterans require.

What This Looks Like on the Ground

FY2026 NRM project awards have included pathology lab renovations, HVAC system replacements, building management system upgrades, elevator and electrical system work, and clinical space preparation for electronic health record transitions — at facilities across the country, including within VISN 1, the VA New England Healthcare System covering all six New England states.

The Central Western Massachusetts VA Healthcare System (Edward P. Boland VA Medical Center) received NRM funding in both the first and second quarters of FY2026. The Manchester VA Medical Center in New Hampshire is one of eight medical centers within VISN 1's network. VISN 1 manages 11 medical centers, 48 community-based outpatient clinics, and multiple specialized care facilities across the region.

These are not ground-up construction projects. They are facility-level infrastructure improvements — often phased, frequently executed in occupied clinical environments, and requiring contractors who understand the compliance requirements and operational constraints of active VA medical facilities.

Why Occupied-Environment Experience Matters

VA medical facilities don't close for construction. NRM projects — whether they involve mechanical system replacements, lab renovations, or building infrastructure upgrades — have to be executed around active patient care and clinical operations. That's a materially different challenge than standard commercial construction.

Contractors working in these environments need to understand infection control protocols, access coordination with facility staff, and the regulatory framework governing construction in federally operated healthcare settings. The planning required before work begins is substantial. The consequences of a planning failure — disrupted care, regulatory non-compliance, schedule collapse — are not recoverable in the way they might be on a commercial job site.

For that reason, VA facilities evaluating contractors for NRM work are typically looking for documented experience in comparable environments, not just construction capacity.

The Remaining Window in FY2026

With roughly $3.7 billion still to be obligated across Q3 and Q4, project awards are expected to accelerate through the summer and into early fall — the period when federal agencies concentrate spending to meet fiscal year end. Contractors positioned to respond to project opportunities in that window need to be pre-qualified, available, and already known to the facilities they want to serve.

The VA's contracting and procurement process favors contractors with demonstrated performance records in VA environments. For New England facilities, the pool of contractors with completed, verified work in occupied VA medical settings is not large.

Carrigg Commercial Builders has completed renovation and construction work at VA medical facilities across New England, including the White River Junction VA Healthcare System in Vermont, the Edith N. Rogers VA Mental Health Outpatient Clinic in Bedford, Massachusetts, and the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center in Massachusetts. Bob Carrigg's team operates in the occupied, mission-critical, federally regulated environments that characterize NRM project work — and has done so across a construction career that spans more than 25 years.

The VA's FY2026 investment represents a substantial wave of project activity across the region. For facility directors and federal contracting officers evaluating contractors for this work, the relevant question isn't whether the opportunity exists. It's whether the contractors under consideration have done it before.

Carrigg Commercial Builders is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business providing commercial construction and general contracting services throughout New England. To connect with Bob Carrigg's team, visit carrigg.com or call (603) 252-4343.