AMHERST — Amherst’s dormant Veterans of Foreign Wars building at 457 Main St. is now owned by the town, which intends to demolish the 1960s-era structure and have the site redeveloped for both affordable housing and a permanent homeless shelter.

The town acquired the property on Jan. 31 for $775,000 from Earl J. Sanders Post 754, less than the $833,800 appraised value for the two-story building, built mostly by World War II veterans in 1961. The transaction includes the associated land, most of which is parking for the facility, which included a banquet hall and bar, a kitchen and a dining area and pool tables.

A purchase-and-sale agreement was reached in December between the VFW and Town Manager Paul Bockelman, at which time the plans for housing at the site were announced. The hope is that some of the apartments constructed at the location, within walking distance of downtown and on the PVTA bus route, will be set aside for veterans.

The Town Council at its Jan. 9 meeting authorized the money for the transaction, coming from a significant portion of $1 million reserved for homeless services and transitional housing in November 2021. That money, in turn, was a fraction of the $11.9 million received by the town in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The council meeting was followed by a meeting of the VFW’s directors on Saturday allowing their treasurer, Kevin Dyba, to enter into the agreement with the town. That approval was signed by VFW directors Robert McAllister and Andrew Lapre.

The VFW’s bar closed in February 2020 and the hall, rented out for private functions, got some use a supplemental resource center and daytime warming location for homeless individuals by Craig’s Doors: A Home Association Inc.

The VFW chapter, founded in 1921, is named after Earl J. Sanders, a U.S. Army private from Amherst who died in 1918 on the front lines in Germany. The VFW once sponsored adult and youth sports teams, and numerous trophies and plaques have been displayed in the building.

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