United States Department of Veterans Affairs to return 65 acres donated by school 90 years agoWASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Veterans Affairs will donate 65 unused acres and about 20 buildings to dramatically expand Tuskegee University under a property transfer that is awaiting congressional approval.
Tuskegee said it plans to use the area for more classrooms, dorms, research labs and faculty offices for several new degree programs.
Legislation sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers of Saks and endorsed by the entire Alabama House delegation is part of an ongoing effort to return the property that the college originally gave up 90 years ago for the creation of a medical facility for black war veterans.
In 1923, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute donated 300 acres for what would eventually become the Tuskegee VA Medical Center. But now, the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System — created in 1997 through a merger of the VA medical centers in Montgomery and Tuskegee — no longer needs the property.
“The ... transfer would allow CAVHS to provide these unutilized, empty buildings for job creation in a severely economically depressed local community while at the same time providing CAVHS and the community access to future clinical interns for the CAVHS system,” said Tracy Boleware, a spokeswoman for Tuskegee University.
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