ST. CLOUD, Fla. — Post 3227 moved into an old train depot on New York Avenue in the 1930s.
The city wants to bulldoze most of the block and start from scratch on a new park in front of City Hall.
City leaders said they still want to honor the veterans on the same land downtown, by opening a museum that honors them.
City leaders want to create a more successful downtown St. Cloud.
But VFW members are not happy with the possibility of change.
"I think that things should remain exactly as they are," said member Barbara Glaze.
"I'd like to keep it just the way it is," said member Joel Messina.
The proposed St. Cloud's Centennial Park would replace pavement with grass and sidewalks, and bring in a splash pad and an amphitheater.
"We're finding a lot more investors looking at the downtown seriously, and this could be the beginning of a renaissance for the St. Cloud downtown," said St. Cloud City Manager Joe Helfenberger.
Channel 9 asked Helfenberger whether the park is an attempt to jump-start the downtown tax base in a city that could use the money.
"What I would say is that it hasn't grown like it would if you had a more developed downtown," Helfenberger said.
The plan is to build the VFW a new building at Veterans Park on US-192.
The city said it's too soon to put a price tag on the project, some of which will eventually be paid in grants, if the VFW members agree to sell.
"I don't think it's fair or reasonable that the city wants to take this building away from us," said Glaze.
Helfenberger said there will be community meetings ahead of any final decisions, including a meeting next month.
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