Plans for a National Guard Regional Readiness Center cleared the first hurdle last week

LYNDON – Plans for a National Guard Regional Readiness Center cleared the first hurdle last week. The Development Review Board on Sept. 7 gave preliminary subdivision approval to Vermont State University-Lyndon. It will allow VSU to carve out and sell a 36-acre parcel to the Vermont Army National Guard, which seeks to develop a $16.9 million readiness center on the strip of land between Back Center Road and Interstate 93. The Northeast Regional Readiness Center would house Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 172nd Cavalry (MTN), and add more units in the future. The base design calls for a 20,000 to 30,000-square-foot facility with a capacity of 100 soldiers, with plans to expand into a multi-unit facility serving 200 soldiers or more. Once built, Alpha Troop would relocate from the Guard’s Newport facility, which would be sold.