Ground Breaking for Elk Grove Village VFW Hall Elevator
On Monday, April 8, Keeley Construction hosted a ground breaking ceremony for the elevator installation at the Elk Grove VFW Hall located at 400 E. Devon Avenue in conjunction with VFW Post 9248, Community Character Coalition (CCC), and the Village of Elk Grove.
This groundbreaking marks the commencement of the installation of a much-needed elevator at the Elk Grove VFW Hall, our Veterans' home away from home. Currently, the VFW Hall has no ground floor entry, and no wheelchair accessible entrance-VFW members have to enter the VFW Hall by using a staircase.
CCC member Kitty Weiner first proposed the idea of raising funds to help the VFW with this project. Mayor Johnson saw an opportunity to achieve this ambitious goal by connecting the CCC with the owners of Castle Chevrolet-Joe Castelbuono, Tony Castelbuono and Bob Politza-who generously donated a 2017 Corvette to raise funds in the "Vette for Vets Car Raffle". The Elk Grove community raised $178,953 through raffle ticket sales and many generous donations from the Elk Grove business community. These funds were donated to VFW Post 9248 to support this project.
The installation of an elevator into an existing building is a complex project, and has presented many challenges throughout the development period, including additional costs that exceeded the original fundraising estimates. Earlier this year, Sean Keeley of Keeley Construction stepped in and generously offered to take over the project construction and help out in closing the gap on the fundraising side.
In addition to donating their services, Keeley Construction reached out to several subcontractors who are providing both labor and monetary donations, including: Connelly Electric, Peloza Construction, Andy's Exterior, Chicago Masonry, Calderon Plumbing, Windward Roofing, Cote Decorating, Sun Mechanical, Custom Carpet, AAA Glass, Frama Building Products, and Floyd Steel. Keeley Construction anticipates a completed elevator installation by the end of summer.
"This elevator project for our local veterans has truly been a community effort." said Mayor Craig Johnson, "We are grateful to Keeley Construction for helping to get this project completed-they are the last in a long line of people in our community who have stepped up to give back to those who have served our country."
This entire process would not be possible without the initiative and dedication of the Community Character Coalition, the generosity of Castle Chevrolet North, donations from numerous local businesses, and commitment of Keeley Construction to bring this to the finish line.