BOSTON — The Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Winchendon will receive nearly $1.8 million in federal funding to construct a new columbarium plaza, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced yesterday.
The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration (NCA), is part of a larger $4 million package secured by the Healey-Driscoll administration to expand columbarium capacity at both of the state’s veterans cemeteries—located in Winchendon and Agawam.
Specifically, the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Winchendon has been awarded $1,781,558 in federal funding to build a new columbarium plaza with two walls and 780 niches. A columbarium is a structure designed with small compartments, or niches, that hold urns containing the cremated remains of the deceased.
Photo Credit: mass.gov
The Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Agawam received $2,314,295 to construct a larger columbarium plaza featuring five walls and 1,550 niches.
“These grants allow us to plan ahead and meet the needs of veterans for the next decade,” said Secretary of Veterans Services Jon Santiago, “while preserving the honor and dignity these cemeteries represent.”
Governor Maura Healey called the cemeteries “beautiful and peaceful spaces” that offer veterans “a dignified place of rest,” while Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll described them as “sacred spaces where families come to remember and communities gather to pay tribute.”
Construction at the Winchendon site will be overseen by Construction Dynamics, Inc., a Clinton-based company, and the Agawam project will be carried out by Kronenberger & Sons Restoration, Inc. of Middletown, Connecticut. According to state officials, the bid came in under budget and will follow federal requirements under the Buy America Build America Act.
The Executive Office of Veterans Services (EOVS) partnered with the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) to prepare the grant applications and will coordinate construction.
Massachusetts is home to over 300,000 veterans, and the state’s two Veterans Memorial Cemeteries provide a final resting place—at no cost—to eligible veterans and their spouses, according to Mass.gov. The current expansions in Winchendon and Agawam meet the National Cemetery Administration’s 10-year build-out requirement, ensuring the site can continue serving veteran families for the next decade, the Healey-Driscoll administration said in a statement.
To learn more about eligibility and burial services, visit: www.mass.gov/veterans-cemeteries.
