VIENNA, Va. — Navy Federal Credit Union said it has closed a "record-breaking deal" with the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation (MCHF) on a commercial construction loan to complete the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va.
The total price for expansion of the museum is estimated to be $70 million, $20 million of which Navy Federal will lend to the Heritage Foundation. The world's biggest credit union said this is its largest commercial loan to date.
"We are grateful to be the lender for this special project. The National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle means a lot to us and our members, many of which are Active Duty and retired Marines," Jim Salmon, vice president of business services at $64 billion Navy Federal, said in a statement. "It is important that we have places such as the museum to keep history alive and honor our servicemembers."
The museum opened in 2006 and currently depicts U.S Marine Corps history up to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Approximately 500,000 visitors come to the museum every year, including a yearly average of 52,000 students.
The expansion will include new exhibits and galleries to depict all the operations and campaigns Marines have been a part of since 1975, including Beirut, Grenada, Desert Storm/Desert Shield, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The loan provided by Navy Federal Credit Union allows the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation to break ground on this historic expansion of the National Museum of the Marine Corps as we continue working toward our fundraising goal," said Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blackman, Jr., USMC (Ret.), president and CEO of the Foundation. "I have no doubt that grateful Americans will continue to step forward to help us complete this mission. Yet, Navy Federal's support will enable the Foundation to more quickly initiate construction of a permanent place to forever tell the stories of those Marines who served from 1976 through today."
Construction for the expansion will begin in the second quarter of 2015, with completion of construction estimated for 2017.
Navy Federal Credit Union has more than 5 million members, 264 branches and a workforce of more than 12,000 employees worldwide. The credit union serves all Department of Defense and Coast Guard Active Duty, civilian and contractor personnel and their families.
Dedicated to the preservation and promulgation of Marine Corps history, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation was established in 1979 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
