New VFW Post in progress as old building was 'impossible to fix'

LA FERIA, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A partnership between several local businesses is helping make sure Rio Grande Valley veterans in Cameron County have a safe place to gather.

Service organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars serve as a place for veterans and community members to conduct business and gather socially. However, the conditions at one local facility had grown far beyond repair.

“Plumbing issues that we have regularly, you know again the flooding, a lot of wooden structures that are affected by the rain and affected by the water that has damaged it that has been sitting there for years and years getting worse," said Ryan Flores, Chaplain for VFW Post 2410.

VFW Post 2410 is located between San Benito and Harlingen.

Flores says he has seen how conditions have gotten worse throughout the years due to only being able to use limited resources to fix the issues and keep the post open.

Foundation problems, broken wood and watermark stains can all be seen from the outside. Problems with plumbing and the roof are other problems that are not visibly noticeable.

Rene Capistran, President and CEO of Noble Texas Builders, says he wanted to help once he learned about the problems, but said the damage on the building was impossible to fix.

“If you were to drain a swimming pool, you end up at the very bottom," Capistran said. "Everything drains towards you. This is what's happened with that facility. As much as I wanted to go in there and just do some corrective work, there really wasn't any corrective work. The only corrective work there was to rebuild a brand new facility.”

Capistran decided to look for more help and got several other South Texas businesses to put in over $1.5 million to build a new facility in place of the old structure.

U.S. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez also secured a $850,000 grant for the VFW Post 2410.

Richard Pena, Commander for America's Last Patrol Post Three, says it is about time federal funding was dedicated to helping Valley veteran facilities.

“All the money is up there in the Austin area, you know," Pena said. "San Antonio, Austin, Houston the money is over there and here in the Valley pura raza that we don’t have these kinds of monies to be doing these repairs.”

Flores and Pena agree that these facilities are important to continue serving as a meet-up place for veterans to mingle and learn about the resources available to them.

Flores hopes the new facility is one where veterans feel safe and find the help they need.

“A lot of veterans come to the VFW to get assistance in filling out the forms and information that they need to get their own medical benefits or educational benefits," Flores said. "We also offer a work-study program for college students whether they are the family of veterans or the veterans themselves, so it is not just a bar.”

A spokesperson for Noble Texas Builders said that the groundbreaking for the new facility will happen in the coming months. They then plan to begin construction immediately.