A new building will allow a Greenwood veterans organization to host larger events, grow its membership and meet the needs of its younger members.
And the city of Greenwood is planning to use the property to potentially expand its public works building.
Members of Greenwood VFW Post 5864 voted overwhelmingly in favor of selling their building to the city of Greenwood and constructing a larger facility better suited to their future needs. The organization has been headquartered in a 6,500-square-foot building along South Washington Street near the city’s public works offices for about 30 years, but has since outgrown the space, which has also become costlier to maintain.
Now, the VFW has narrowed its choices for a new facility to two properties, and intends to purchase land and construct a new building by the end of the year, post commander Steve Milbourn said.
"I can breathe now; it was a tough road to get everything done," he said.
The new facility will cost about $1.4 million, and will be paid for through a combination of money from the sale of their current facility, for which the city is paying $500,000, along with the organization’s savings, fundraising and a loan, if necessary.
VFW members who are licensed contractors have volunteered to do work, such as plumbing or electrical wiring, and assistance from them could reduce the cost of the project by as much as $100,000, Milbourn said.
Disabled American Veterans will use 2,200 square feet of the building for its state headquarters, and will contribute between $200,000 to $250,000 for the construction costs, Milbourn said. He added he hopes that partnership will help attract more members, since veterans coming to that office for assistance will be able to get a look at the new VFW building as well.
In November, the Greenwood Board of Public Works and Safety approved offering $500,000 for the VFW property, which was the average of two appraisals. Earlier in the year, the Greenwood City Council had also signed off on the potential purchase.
Greenwood’s public works offices, which are just south of the current VFW building, have a similar need to expand or move into a larger building. The facility was built in 1985, when the population and geographic area of the city was half of what it is today, Deputy Mayor Terry McLaughlin said.
What the city will do with the VFW’s land, which is about two acres, is yet to be determined. Options include constructing a new public works building or adding on to the current one, he said. The city has spent $425,000 to hire DLZ, an engineering consulting firm, to study the current and future needs of the public works department and create construction plans, McLaughlin said.
The study is in its early stages. DLZ has just started meeting with city officials to discuss their needs and wants for a new building, he said. A timeline for when construction could start has yet not been determined, but the project is expect to take at least a year to complete, McLaughlin said.
Last year, the city council authorized a nearly 50 percent increase in the fees residents pay for sewer services in order to fund nearly $80 million in projects, including $7.5 million for a new public works building.
