Schaumburg VFW post looking for a new home

Schaumburg Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2202 is hoping to soon occupy its first permanent home in nearly 20 years.

On Tuesday, the post will ask the Schaumburg village board for a special-use permit to move into the approximately 1,500 square feet of Unit F in the commercial building at 525 W. Wise Road.

The post's last home disappeared around 1990 when it became part of the village's Town Square renovation project at the southwest corner of Schaumburg and Roselle roads, Commander Joe Wein said.

The post leadership at that time never found a new location but chose instead to meet at the Schaumburg Barn owned by the village.

"One of the signs of death of a post is when they no longer have a home, but meet in a library or municipally provided spot," Wein said.

While a decline in numbers has been inevitable due to the aging of World War II and Korean War vets, the post recently decided to reverse this trend and put on a more positive face for younger veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

"It's hard to get guys who just got back from a war to participate," Wein said. "They'll sign up, but they don't have a lot of time. We're trying to create a more inviting social scene."

The post currently has 123 members, down from about 200 when the last lodge closed, Wein said.

The new building will have space for about 50 people to meet at a time, and for the post to have a place to hang plaques and keep other belongings, he added.

The organization also hopes to rent out the facility for small private parties, but will need further permission from the village for that. Parties of more than 50 people would likely be referred to Streamwood's VFW Post 5151, Wein said.

A special-use permit is required not because the VFW would bring a more intensive use of the property, but quite the opposite.

Schaumburg's Senior Planner Tom Farace said the building lies in an area still governed by an older zoning classification aimed at manufacturing, though more and more offices are moving in.

Wein said the proposed lodge's neighbors include an insurance agent, accountant and printer.

The post was looking for a place with reasonable rent, sufficient parking and neighbors whose hours of operation wouldn't conflict with the evenings and weekends that the new lodge would be most active, he added.