GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The latest plan for a new Grand Rapids Home for Veterans will save wetlands and satisfy objections of some nearby neighbors.
Leaders of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency shared their current plans at a public meeting Wednesday in the current Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
Original plans had the new home being built on the southwest corner of their property on Monroe Ave. NE. But after wetlands were discovered and nearby neighbors expressed concerns, they decided to move the project to the north side of the site.
“It would be dramatically different and much less impact on the neighbors in the southwest corner of the property,” says Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency Director James Redford.
“We are delighted,” says neighbor Carol Vsoske. “We are happy that it is there and it is being built and the veterans are being taken care of and that it is not right next door.”
Construction on the new 128 bed home could start next spring and be ready for veterans to move in by the summer of 2021.
"I think it is fantastic,” says Robert Troost, president of the member’s council at the veterans home. “Their ideas are super. It is going to give us what we need as members and veterans.”