Kentucky National Guard breaks ground on new Joint Force Headquarters

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky National Guard is making room for a new headquarters.

Military and state leaders were in Frankfort on Tuesday to break ground on the new Joint Force Headquarters on the Boone National Guard Center.

The largely-federally funded project has been 20 years in the making. It's also the first time there will a single building for command and control of the KYNG. The building will consolidate the locations of the command group's Army and Air assets.

"This facility will make a difference in the way our brave Guard members serve and protect Kentuckians, and there is no better time than after this challenging year to ensure these heroes have the resources they need to serve," Gov. Andy Beshear said.

The building will sit on the former site of the Combined Support Maintenance Shop, which was the very first building constructed at Boone Center. Built in 1958, it was finally removed in 2018 to prepare for the new JFHQ building.

Construction on the nearly 68,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to be finished by September 2023.