The Veterans Home project planned for Cleveland has been delayed again. After changes were made to the original blueprint, the state said that the project could no longer be built at its planned site, as it no longer meets certain regulations. This land was donated specifically for the Veterans Home by a local businessman, and now the city will have to find a new location.
The Bradley County Commission and the Cleveland City Council both discussed the issue on Tuesday afternoon.
Vice Chairman Adam Lowe from the County Commission said that officials should ask the state for more information about which parts of the new blueprint were causing the problem.
Commissioner Mark Hall said, “The biggest problem is the state misunderstood where we were and we do not have the luxury of stopping and quitting.” He mentioned that as the Baby Boomer generation continues to grow older, there will be more and more veterans in need of the facility. He said, “We need the state to give us a list of discrepancies.”
Commissioner Jeff Yarber said, “This is typical government; this is bureaucratic red tape.”
In the City Council meeting, Mayor Tom Rowland described the blueprint change, saying, “Instead of a single institutional building, they went to a pod design, which is actually much nicer.”
He expressed his disappointment at not being able to use the donated land. Regarding the whole situation, he said, “This is not good news, especially with yesterday being Veteran's Day, but we're just going to keep on.”
The donated 30-acre site was on Westland Drive in South Cleveland.