Work to restore the Robert B. Green Memorial Center is almost complete.
Iberia Parish President Larry Richard tells us that the building, built in the late 1950s and located in West End Park, should be ready for community use by the end of May.
"This building goes way back," Richard says. "It's got some serious history here. It has been a vital part of this area."
The center was closed a few years ago, because it wasn't safe. The parish council took over the building, and Richard said when he first took office he wanted it to be a priority. The project is mostly complete, and within a few weeks it should be completely refurbished, he said.
"I became the parish president in 2016 and it was something that we started to work on very very hard to make sure that this thing would materialize," he said. "We've almost completed the refurbishing of the building so we're very very proud that we have it where it's at right now."
The building was long known as home to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12065, it will be available for community use as well, Richard said. It has been a long road, but the result is better than many had hoped for, he added.
"From this particular building is the fact that when you know some things take a little bit longer than you want to get what you want," said Richard, a veteran himself. "But in this particular case I think they probably got a little bit more than they started asking for because it's truly a brand new building."
