A new Veterans Affairs office is opening this week in Waterloo. It promises to offer more room for community gatherings, along with a gazebo.
Black Hawk County spokeswoman Gabbi DeWitt says the goal is to serve even more veterans across northeast Iowa.
“This just gives a more welcoming, open space,” DeWitt says. “The other office is a little bit more cramped. It’s light, it’s airy, it’s the kind of place that people would want to hang out in and just really enjoy the time together.”
DeWitt says the old office was a former daycare and didn’t have enough space for local events. She says the new building will be able to better house the office’s weekly luncheons and VA Commission meetings. There’s even room for a pool table.
“Mostly it’s just the benefit of this newer space, ability to serve people in a way that allows just more comfort and a better usable space,” DeWitt says, “and then also just more convenient as far as parking.”
The new VA office is right behind the original location. The county used COVID-relief funds to support the project.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new office is scheduled for Thursday at 11 AM.
(By James Kelley, Iowa Public Radio)