The city of Huntsville is moving forward with plans to expand the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum at John Hunt Park.

The Huntsville Planning Commission approved the location, character and extent of the expansion at its meeting on Tuesday. The city intends to bid the project within 90 days, with an anticipated 16-month construction timeline. The museum is a component of the John Hunt Park master plan.

The expansion will increase the capacity of the museum from about 12,000 square feet to about 25,700 square feet, according to Jason Phillips of J.M. Phillips Engineering, which is involved with the project.

The expansion will include a new building north of the existing building. A parking area and an outdoor exhibit space for some of the military vehicles are also included in the project, as is lighting for the museum displays. The expansion includes space to host outdoor events.

The majority of the area in the new building will be exhibit space, but there will also be an administrative office area and conference rooms. The new facility will have roll-up doors.

“Some of the vehicles on display are brought out for parades and other events,” Phillips said. “This will have capabilities to bring them in and out of the building.”

The museum opened two months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. It exists to honor all who have served and to support veterans activities, events and organizations, Randy Withrow, museum director said on the city website. “The museum has thousands of artifacts, all serving as tributes to those who have served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces.”

Artifacts mostly date from World War I to now, but the museum also includes items dating back to the Revolutionary War. Original French Charleville and British “Brown Bess” muskets are on display, while another exhibit features weapons from the Civil War.

Other collections include individual medals, military vehicles and aircraft. Visitors can even “go aboard” Alabama’s “40&8” World War I French military boxcar, a gift to Alabama from France.

For military vehicle enthusiasts, the museum features the oldest ancestor of the vehicle that became known as the jeep ­– the 1940 Ford “Pygmy” pilot model. The museum’s military jeep collection is without equal, featuring everything from prototypes up to the Humvee. If aircraft is more your speed, the museum has a MASH Korean War helicopter as well as a Vietnam-era Huey chopper.

The museum acquires its artifacts from a range of sources, including private collections, donations and loans from the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Most museum patrons are from the U.S., but Withrow said it has welcomed international visitors.

Other John Hunt Park projects

The museum expansion is one of the growing number of projects at John Hunt Park.

The city is spending $2.5 million on upgrades to the pavilion at the sand volleyball complex at John Hunt Park. The work will include adding a second floor to the existing open-air pavilion and other improvements to the facility. The project will be completed in two phases, with construction beginning this spring and finishing by fall 2026.

The city broke ground last fall on a 60,580-square-foot recreation center that will include four full-size gyms with regulation basketball courts that can be configured into as many as eight regulation volleyball courts. The main building will house a fitness room and multipurpose activity rooms.

The recreation center is rising on about 8.5 acres north of Joe Davis Stadium. Fite Building Company of Decatur is the general contractor on the $18.5 million facility, with William M. Boehme & Associates handling architectural work. Construction is expected to last until December.

The tennis center at the park is also being expanded. The expansion will include building 10 hard courts with lighting and converting six existing hard courts to clay courts. The project also includes a small restroom pavilion to support the courts, additional parking, sidewalks, landscaping, and irrigation.

The city council approved a $4.6 million construction contract with Chorba Contracting Corporation for the project last June.

Construction is expected to take about 16 months. When complete, the Tennis Center will offer 36 soft courts and 10 hard courts for local and tournament play.

See story: Huntsville is spending $2.5 million on sand volleyball complex. Here’s why. – al.com

See story: Recreation center with 25 pickleball courts coming to Huntsville’s largest park – al.com

See story: Here are 3 parks and rec construction projects approved by Huntsville’s City Council – al.com