After more than 60 years, McMinnville’s National Guardsmen are getting a new home.

The Tennessee Military Department is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for a new National Guard Readiness Center along Manchester Highway between McMinnville and Morrison on Feb. 11, at 10 a.m.

The Tennessee Military Department recently bid out and awarded a contract to construct the new Readiness Center to replace McMinnville’s 11,200 square foot armory. The original armory was built in 1957, and is the oldest and smallest armory in the Tennessee National Guard.

“Warren County and the Guardsmen there deserve a modernized National Guard Armory,” said Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes, Tennessee’s Adjutant General. “The new facility will greatly improve our readiness, our ability to train for our federal mission, and improve our emergency response within the community during a disaster.”

The new 33,000 square foot facility provides modern administrative, training, supply, and storage rooms with energy-efficient equipment and other green features to reduce operating costs. It also provides adequate parking for Soldiers, visitors, and the unit’s tactical equipment. The readiness center will also have a 5,600 square foot vehicle maintenance building.

“Soldiers will be able to train in classrooms, the new drill hall, and the surrounding land,” said Holmes. “The local community will also have access to a Tennessee National Guard facility in Warren County for generations to come.”  

The Tennessee State Building Commission approved this project, funded entirely by the federal government, in July 2018. Design House 1411, LLC, located in Nashville, began the design in early 2019. Sain Construction of Manchester was the winning bidder for construction.