USO Great Lakes Upgrades Facility

Photo By Lt.j.g. Nicholas Scott | GREAT LAKES, Ill. (Oct. 15, 2020) Jeremiah Avers, center manager, USO Great Lakes, stands in front of the USO building at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, Oct. 15. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nick Scott).  

GREAT LAKES, IL, UNITED STATES

11.01.2020

Courtesy Story

Naval Station Great Lakes

GREAT LAKES, Ill. (Nov. 1, 2020) – The United Service Organization at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, began renovations of their main building at Great Lakes, October 1, 2020.
The biggest USO in the Midwest, Great Lakes USO serves more than 50 commands across northern Illinois and provides Sailors and their dependents with services such as internet connectivity, food, beverages, travel services and a place to rest and relax. It is the only USO in Illinois that is not located in an airport.
Despite being such an important organization for local Sailors, the Great Lakes USO hit many roadblocks during their renovation of the 12,000 square-foot historic building. Bldg. 27, the USO’s home, is part of the original construction of the base, completed in 1911.
Jeremiah Avers, center manager for USO Great Lakes, said that the facility has not been updated since the early 1990’s. USO of Illinois held a capital campaign to raise money to renovate all centers with Great Lakes being the main focus.
“The facility was already one of the largest in the USO, but by opening up some walls and reimagining the center we're modernizing the space and making it much better,” said Avers. “We'll have everything in the new center that was in the old space but just newer and better.”
Avers said that navigating the renovation during the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging, but that they are on schedule nonetheless.
“There has been a lot of work going into the permitting process for this,” said Avers. “We’ve been planning this renovation project for several years. We had to go through the Illinois Historical Society.”
The USO had structural engineers on site to make sure the façade of the structure was not altered unless to upgrade certain services and only if changes would not be visible from the street.
“We had to make sure all of our renovation plans were approved,” said Avers. “We’re maintaining some of the pillars that were built in the early 1900’s. We are actually redoing them to the original design.”
The updated USO facility is slated for completion in March 2021.
“We’re excited to have it done. This will probably be one of the nicest USO centers in the country,” said Avers.
For more information on the USO of Illinois, go to https://illinois.uso.org/ or visit https://www.facebook.com/usoofillinois.
For more news from Naval Station Great Lakes, visit www.dvidshub.net/unit/NSGLPA or www.facebook.com/NavalStationGreatLakes.

• Date Taken: 11.01.2020
• Date Posted: 11.02.2020 14:22
• Story ID: 382219
• Location: GREAT LAKES, IL, US