The Oregon Army National Guard celebrated newly-completed renovations to the Corvallis Armory with a ribbon cutting on Thursday.
The armory was originally constructed in 1959, to serve full and part-time National Guardsmen from the 2nd Battalion 162nd Infantry.
The armory has had some small refurbishments over the years, but this large scale project added a 5,250 square foot expansion. The new renovations include modernized bathrooms and showers, improved teaching facilities, new administrative spaces and upgraded recruiting offices.
Rita Wren works with the construction branch chief for the Oregon Military Department, and said the goal of this renovation was to make this facility last as a community space for as long as possible.
“Our goal is always to make the facility good for 25 more years. So when we do our renovations, we're looking at longevity and quality and what can we do to spread the dollar as far as we can to get the most bang for our buck here,” said Wren.
Beyond functioning as a training facility for National Guardsmen, the Corvallis Armory also serves as an emergency outreach center for the community. The building is now outfitted with a back-up generator, electrical grid upgrades and updates to earthquake safety features.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Ryon Skiles, the remodel will allow the armory to be an uninterrupted emergency management center.
“This is a place where National Guard soldiers can come during natural disasters to help with floods or fires, to muster here for any kind of emergency needs that they need to respond to,” said Skiles.
The Corvallis Armory, located at 1100 N.W. Kings Blvd., also functions as a gathering space, with all of the classroom spaces and other facilities available to be rented by the public.
