Some big changes will come to the Veterans Hospital in Waco and 83-year-old William Oglevie looks forward to them.
"I'd like to go watch them sometime," the Navy Veteran said. "I might need to ask them because I've done similar things."
Oglevie used to work in construction and plans to keep a close eye on some upcoming hospital projects, made possible by federal money. New facilities will enable researchers to study the brain to learn more about post traumatic stress syndrome.
Waco VA Administrator Tom Balderach explained how the money will be used.
"We've received $8 million in economic stimulus [for] eight individual projects for which we will begin to rebuild the utility infrastructure on this campus," Balderach said.
The projects will include renovating historic buildings and constructing new ones.
"A new acute mental health building with 32 beds, a community living center with 20 beds," architect David Lindeman said.
It sounds like good news for veterans like Oglevie.
"It makes me feel very good," Oglevie said. "I mean, I appreciate it. Sometimes we get angry and say we don't appreciate it or something, but overall it couldn't be better for me."
It has the attention of, not only veterans, but the rest of the city and even the region.
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Waco Veteran's Hospital
News 8's Bonnie Gonzalez shows us how the benefits are stretching beyond the VA campus.
 
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"A lot of the contractors will hire sub contractors to do some of the different work," Balderach explained.
That translates into hundreds of jobs for people in the area.
"You can easily estimate 200 to 300 workers per project on our campus, all at the same time," Lindeman said.
Construction on the projects could start as early as this summer, with construction on the Center of Excellence starting July 1.
