MONTGOMERY— Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded a $350,000 grant to the Coffee County Commission to provide a home for Alabama veterans while creating more than 200 jobs.
Infrastructure improvements through the Community Development Block Grant will help lay the foundation for the Command Sergeant Major Bennie G. Adkins State Veterans Home which is being built in Enterprise. As the fifth veterans nursing home in the state, the Enterprise location will provide care for 174 veterans and create 224 new jobs.
“We cannot and must not forget those who wore the military uniform and are responsible for the freedoms we enjoy today,” Gov. Ivey said. “It is not only an honor, but our duty to do what we can to ensure that our aged and infirmed veterans are cared for after all they have done for us. I am pleased to award this grant.”
Funds will be used to supply water to the 181,281-square-foot nursing care facility that is being built on 108 acres off Rocky Head Road in Enterprise. The facility is expected to open in 2024.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“I am aware and very proud of the heavy military presence – retired and active – in my hometown of Enterprise, Coffee County and southeast Alabama,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “ADECA is pleased to join Gov. Ivey in supporting our veterans in southeast Alabama through this project. Because of the large military and veteran population in the area, it will make it easier for families to visit loved ones at this location.”
Gov. Ivey notified Dean Smith, chairman of the Coffee County Commission, that the grant had been approved. The county is supplying a local match of $437,000 for the project.
ADECA administers an array of programs supporting law enforcement and traffic safety, economic development, energy conservation, water resource management and recreation development.
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