Cape Coral military museum could lose its home and the veterans services it runs there

[libertybele]

Very sad.

Cape Coral military museum could lose its home and the veterans services it runs there

Cape Coral’s military museum could be homeless soon.

What happens then? Founder and CEO Ralph Santillo has no idea.

“That’s a good question,” Santillo says. “We’re trying to figure that out for ourselves.”

The Southwest Florida Military Museum & Library building recently went on the market for $2.1 million, and now the 11-year-old museum has nowhere to go if the place sells.

Santillo and the museum’s board of directors have no good options, he admits.

They don’t have the money to buy the building themselves or to rent a place big enough to house the museum’s 32,000 square feet of exhibits.

“It’s impossible,” Santillo says. “How would I begin to move it, and where would I move it to?

“We don’t know what to do.”

On top of that, its collection of military artifacts is too big to put into storage. “Who would pay for that?” Santillo says. “We don’t have those kinds of funds.”

Complicating things: The museum closed March 17 due to COVID-19 and didn't re-open until about two weeks ago. Meanwhile, no money was coming in from admission and other sales.........

https://www.news-press.com/story/entertainment/2020/06/07/cape-coral-military-museum-starts-gofundme-save-home-veterans-services/3134500001/