The Vermont Army National Guard intends to demolish its Cold War-era armory in Winooski and sell the property after a planned renovation turned up asbestos, lead and PCB contamination in the building.
The 13,950-square-foot armory is also outdated and too small, according to Col. Jacob Roy, the Guard’s construction and facilities management officer.
Built in 1955, the armory isn’t listed on either the state or national historic registers — but it was deemed eligible for listing in 2009. That shouldn’t stop the Guard’s plans, however: A draft agreement with the state historic preservation office allows the demolition to proceed so long as the Guard renovates another historic building by December 2025.
The deal, once finalized, expires in five years. It still must be approved by the state and federal historical preservation advisory groups and the National Guard Bureau.
Meantime, Winooski officials are eyeing the property for future residential development. Mayor Kristine Lott confirmed that the city has discussed purchasing the land once the building is torn down.
“There’s interest,” Lott said. “Whether or not we have the resources to do that, we don’t know yet.”
The Winooski Armory, on residential Lafountain Street, was one of 16 armories the Guard built during a post-Korean War construction boom, according to a 2020 state historical survey. The one-story brick building was designed by Whittier & Goodrich, a Burlington-based architecture firm that also designed high schools in Montpelier and St. Johnsbury, the survey says.
The armory is home to Charlie Company, the medical unit from the 186th Brigade Support Battalion. Beyond regular Guard operations, the armory has been used for community events, such as a haunted house on Halloween and the endpoint for the annual Santa’s Convoy, a parade of lighted military vehicles. During the height of the pandemic, the armory served as a COVID-19 testing site.
Only a handful of people work at the armory daily, but dozens report there on drill weekends and for annual training, Roy said. The Guard built an addition in 2017 to improve restrooms for women soldiers, but the space is still inadequate, Roy said.
The Guard was considering a large renovation until it learned the extent of contamination. Toxic chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were detected in the armory’s paint. Lead dust, from a long-gone indoor firing range, has settled on the floor. Tests also found evidence of asbestos.
“The costs [to remediate] outweighed the potential gains we’d get from keeping it,” Roy said.
The demolition could begin as soon as March and take up to a year to complete, including testing the soil for contaminants. Charlie Company will move to a larger building at Camp Johnson in Colchester, Roy said.
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Mayor Lott said the armory property would be ideal for housing, particularly larger, family-size apartments or affordable condos. The 1.5-acre lot, which abuts a city park, is zoned residential and allows for 35-foot-tall, four-unit buildings.
Laura Trieschmann, Vermont’s historic preservation officer, said she’s pleased that the deal requires the Guard to fix up the vacant Officers’ Club, one of the oldest buildings on Camp Johnson, the Guard’s base. The 1929-era structure is architecturally significant, Trieschmann said.
The Guard plans to repair the building’s siding and trim and create accessible entrances, among other fixes.
“We’ve been having conversations for years to get them to take care of this building in the way that it deserves,” Trieschmann said. “This shows the recognition of the significance of that building.”