The Missouri National Guard is planning a more than 30,000 square foot maintenance facility for its armory property in Macon. The Macon Field Maintenance Shop would provide field-level maintenance for all Missouri National Guard vehicles in north-central Missouri.

It will carry a price tag of more than eight million dollar, according to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Winkler of the Construction and Facilities Maintenance Office in Jefferson City.

The new shop will replace a substantially smaller one in Mexico, built in the 1950's and will provide large maintenance bays with an overhead crane to support the more modern, and often much larger, equipment now used by the National Guard. Winkler said the new facility will also include support areas including a classroom and a fitness room to allow employees to maintain their fitness to meet military standards.

Winkler said the 30,000 square foot structure is currently in the design phase with construction funding slated for the Guard's 2014 fiscal year that starts in October 2013. Unlike most National Guard armories, the Macon site on Highway 63 boasts nearly 3,400 acres, with much of the property managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation for public recreation. The site was acquired by the Guard in 1989. The Macon armory serves as headquarters for the Guard's 14-38th Engineer Company.