The old building that housed the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center in lower Manhattan was crowded by skyscrapers. The interior was dark and cramped and devoid of natural light.

“The space we were in wasn’t meeting the needs of the children, each of whom has multiple chronic illnesses,” says Pat Tursi, CEO of the center. The Manhattan facility was designed based on more of a custodial care model—and when the center had to find a new space, it found a new opportunity.

The center found space on a former golf course in Yonkers, N.Y., and the new facility was built quickly and efficiently with union labor. More than 800 jobs—166 of them full-time—were created during the construction of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified facility. And in February 2012, it opened its doors to the more than 100 children who are center residents.

“The word that seems to come up when we talk to the parents and families about the new space—and I know this will make the architects cringe—is that this is Disney World to them, and I think that fits,” Tursi says. “Not in that it physically resembles an amusement park, but there is magic captured in this building.”

Read the rest of Vested Interest on the AFL-CIO's @Work site.