CANANDAIGUA, NY – Who would have thought? 

That’s what U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Charles Schumer said Wednesday, thinking back 20 years ago to when he said he promised that not only would he work to keep the Canandaigua Veterans Affairs Medical Center from closing – as it was then slated to do – but see to its growth. 

And on Wednesday, Schumer, along with fellow U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, announced from the Canandaigua VA that $250 million in federal money is coming to Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. 

The funding includes $62.5 million that will help complete an overall $506 million modernization and upgrade of the VA campus - "the final piece of the puzzle,” Schumer said.