Danbury War Memorial could get upgrade with $2M grant proposal
DANBURY – Survival of an aging structure that was built on donations as a tribute to World War II veterans would be assured for a new generation with a $2 million grant proposed by Danbury’s state delegation.
The Danbury War Memorial, the 1951 veterans’ hall and community center at the foot of South Main Street in Rogers Park, needs new heating, cooling and fire-suppression systems that the nonprofit simply cannot pay for on its own, advocates said.
“We only have so much money, and the grant we get from the city really only covers our operating costs,” said Chick Volpe, the treasurer of the War Memorial’s board. “They built this after Word War II as a living memorial to the members of our armed forces, and really no significant work done has been done on this building in all these years.”
Recently that has begun to change. Major renovations were undertaken in 2015 to replace the roof, rebuild the locker rooms, install new flooring, and upgrade equipment in the fitness center, using $1.6 million in separate grants.
But the War Memorial’s latest capital needs to replace aging boilers, ventilation systems and fixtures are beyond the nonprofit’s means, said state Rep. Bob Godfrey, the dean of Danbury’s Hartford delegation.
“They need to upgrade the heating, the electricity, and the plumbing so that it conforms with state code,” said Godfrey, the deputy speaker of the House. “The War Memorial is not just a gym – it’s an emer
gency shelter and a voting place and a community center, so we sat down with the organization to work out the details of what they need.”
Godfrey’s bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Julie Kushner and state Reps. Raghib Allie-Brennan, David Arconti, Patrick Callahan, Kenneth Gucker and Stephen Harding, has been referred to the Joint Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding.
While the War Memorial remains the grounds for many of Danbury’s major veterans’ celebrations, it is also used by leagues and organizations for everything from volleyball and Indian dance class to karate lessons and pet obedience school.
With much of the building’s group activities restricted by COVID-19, it has fulfilled another important role, Danbury Mayor Joe Cavo said.
“[T]he War Memorial … has been a great resource to us as a warming and cooling center prior to the pandemic, and has been used as an emergency shelter in the past and when COVID-19 first hit our community,” Cavo said on Monday. “I am in support of this bill and appreciate the efforts from our state delegation on this matter.”
Separate efforts are underway at the War Memorial to replace windows and doors through a local $100,000 grant, and perhaps to install an elevator with a separate federal grant, Volpe said.
“I love the place, quite honestly,” Volpe said.