Congress has approved a $450,000 grant for the Veterans Memorial Building renovation project in Lompoc, county Supervisor Joni Gray announced Tuesday.

Neither Gray nor Alice Milligan, who is spearheading the $3.8 million renovation, had details about the grant.

Milligan said she had requested the money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and estimated that it will take about a year for the funds to make their way from Washington, D.C., to Lompoc.

She said it took about 18 months to begin spending the project’s initial $803,000 HUD grant, but an environmental impact report was required.

“I hope we don’t have to do another EIR,” she said.

A Santa Barbara roofing company is replacing tiles on the east side of the roof under a $328,000 construction grant awarded in June by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

Plans are being prepared for the next piece of the project, $300,000 worth of improvements to the building’s electrical system, Milligan said. That will be paid for with a federal Community Development Block Grant.

“My next big challenge is the windows — the windows on the west side leak,” Milligan said, adding that she is researching what window materials are allowed on historic buildings.

The current windows are wood, and Milligan wants to replace them with material that looks like wood but will last longer.

At the same time, she has applied to have the memorial building placed on the National Registry of Historic Places and doesn’t want to risk that possible designation by using inappropriate materials in the renovation.

The window concerns are delaying work in the building’s auditorium, which needs acoustic tiles and flooring.

But the news of the latest HUD grant is encouraging, Milligan said.

“We keep chipping away,” she said. “I’m very pleased. We can certainly use the money.”

Staff Writer Samantha Womack contributed to this report.