A month before his assassination in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation to create a national system of homes for disabled veterans. The Milwaukee VA Soldiers Home opened in 1867 as one of the three original homes for wounded veterans in the nation.
The sprawling 90-acre campus on the far west side of Milwaukee has several historic buildings dating back to the 19th century and was designed to be a self-contained village.
As those buildings fell into disrepair, the campus was considered one of the 11 most endangered historic properties in the country in 2011, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Today, some of the buildings have been restored to serve their original purpose: the service of veterans. That is the result of redevelopments led by The Alexander Co., a Madison-based development firm specializing in historic preservation and urban revitalization. In 2021, the company completed a rehabilitation of six historic buildings on the campus, including the iconic Old Main building.
Now the firm is tackling rehabilitation of three more buildings on the campus, with a $25 million plan.
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This article was originally published by BizTimes.
