Backers of a veterans cemetery in Anaheim Hills received word this week the project is eligible for a $10 million federal grant, a significant step forward for the planned resting place in Gypsum Canyon, officials said Wednesday.
“This is absolutely fantastic news,” said Nick Berardino, president of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County.
Said Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner: “What this tells us is the federal government is entirely behind our project and will help us with financing. It is so nice to have the federal government supportive of us not just with their say so, but with money.”
The grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs leaves the advocates for the project to now turn to the more bureaucratic paperwork required by the state for permits for the 156-acre resting place in east Anaheim along the Riverside (91) Freeway just east of the 241 toll road.
“Now we’re down to getting all of the logistical, procedural and administrative stuff done,” Berardino told City News Service. “This was probably one of the biggest hurdles we had. A lot of hard work was done. We’re extraordinarily happy about this.”
The backers of the project “were thinking how to proceed without the federal funding and had a lot of different options, but now with the federal funding the road forward is clear,” Berardino said.
“We’re grateful to the Orange County congressional delegation and CalVet for working so hard behind the scenes to make it happen,” Berardino said.
Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, both D-California, voiced support for the project in recent weeks, Berardino said.
There will likely be a change in the plans “a little bit to save millions of dollars in grading,” Berardino said. “I would not be surprised if we’re breaking some ground by the end of next summer or early fall.”
Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, said the eligibility for federal funding “gives us the ability to advance the work that has been years in the making. We will stay focused and diligent, moving this project forward alongside our veteran community, CalVet, and (Department of General Services).
“Our singular goal remains clear: to deliver a dignified final resting place in Orange County for our honored veterans.”
The cemetery would be on a 238-acre property in Gypsum Canyon and could be built out eventually to accommodate 200,000 burials over the next century, officials said.
It would be the county’s first veterans cemetery, joining the Riverside National Cemetery, Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego and Los Angeles National Cemetery. It would help alleviate a problem with dwindling resting places elsewhere in the county.