Construction is set to begin on a new Grand Rapids Home for Veterans as Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency Friday for the official groundbreaking. Officials say the new 128-room facility is a much needed upgrade to the aging facilities on the 93-acre Grand Rapids campus. The facility includes a new community center, and private living quarters each equipped with its own personal restroom.
It’s the beginning of a chapter for the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, which was originally built in 1885 and housed soldiers from the Civil War. Construction is expected to take 2 years and cost roughly $63 million.
The ceremony Friday comes on the heels of a groundbreaking last fall for a new veteran’s home in Macomb County. Both homes are expected to open by the end of 2021.