VA proposes building assisted living facility at Soldiers Home

By Sean Ryan

The Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to tear down a house in the historic Soldiers Home property to build a 40,000-square-foot assisted living center.

The roughly 150-acre Soldiers Home property in Milwaukee is a historic district with 48 buildings that have federal protection. The federal government started building Soldiers Home in 1867 to serve veterans of the U.S. Civil War.

The proposed VA project would require the department tear down two of the protected structures on the grounds—the quartermaster’s house, a single-family structure, and the small garage behind the house.

In a letter to the city of Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Commission, a consultant to the VA said the 5.9-acre site was selected because there is no other viable location on the Veterans Affairs Medical Center grounds at 5000 W. National Ave.

The Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission on Monday will consider submitting comments to the VA on the project plan.