MILITARY CONSTRUCTION STRONG IN THE OKALOOSA COUNTY FLORIDA AREA

The below is just a sampling of the kind of improvements the military installations in our area are doing. As noted below, the military has put their money where their mouth is, with the State of Florida and the local governments showing their support, as well. So read on and learn about the future of our area.

Constructing economy
Military projects are bustling, bringing in local revenue
By MONA MOORE Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4443 mmoore@nwfdailynews.com

Local military installations will continue to grow in 2010. From Base Realignment and Closure additions to lodging, construction projects will change the local landscape, employ more residents and increase spending. “There continues to remain a tremendous amount of construction left to be done and also to be contracted out,” said Jim Breitenfeld of the Okaloosa County Economic Development Council. “At the worst, it will continue to do what the military has done for years here, which is serve as a solid base for the economy.” A few projects at Hurlburt Field are scheduled for completion within the next few months. The first phase of Hurlburt’s Soundside Club and Visiting Quarters is complete, a month ahead of schedule. Designed to accommodate 500 people, the new facility includes three ballrooms, a kitchen, outdoor deck and bar with a lounge in 20,610 square feet. The $6.7 million club hosted its first wedding reception Saturday. Its grand opening will be Sunday. The former Soundside Club soon will be Hurlburt’s Joint Operational Planning Facility, said Lt. Col Shawn Moore, commander with the 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron. “With the new club now operational, construction efforts are now focusing on the adjacent $7.3 million Joint Operational Planning Facility project scheduled to be complete in November 2010,” Moore wrote in an e-mail. “Also, construction of the new $9 million 720th Special Tactics Group facility has been progressing on schedule to meet projected completion in September 2010.” The attached visiting quarters, currently Hurlburt’s largest construction project, is scheduled for completion in February. The 63,987-squarefoot complex includes 120 rooms, a courtyard and two fitness rooms. The $14.2 million hotel will be open to anyone with DOD identification. Money for the project was supplied by nonappropriated funds and lodging non-appropriated funds from the Air Force Services Agency (AFSVA). Hurlburt also used military construction money approved by Congress. “One additional O&M (operations and maintenance) funded project of note is our current realignment of Terry Street and O’Neil Avenue, where we are creating a new four-way traffic-lighted intersection with Independence Road adjacent to our AAFES shoppette,” Moore said. The $685,000 project is expected improve the heavily traveled area. It should wrap up by the end of January. A new vehicle maintenance facility, an MC-130 simulator and electrical improvements also are funded for 2010 at a cost of $18.65 million. The electrical distribution substation will provide a second utility tie-in to support the base. The MC-130 simulator facility will be a 15,000-square-foot addition to an existing building. “The refueling vehicle maintenance will be a 4,600-square-foot facility to replace the existing 43-year-old undersized and deteriorated building,” Moore said. During the next six years, Eglin Air Force Base’s population is expected to increase by more than 6,200, thanks to the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (7thSFG (A) and the Joint Strike Fighter training school. Those numbers could increase if the base receives more than the initial 59 F-35 jets. Construction projects related to the Joint Strike Fighter could also grow to $400 million if 54 additional F-35s come to Eglin. Preparations for the new missions include an increase in civilian jobs, from carpenters to engineers. Planning for the growth has been in the works since the announcement of the BRAC-initiated missions. The base is at the hiring stage of the plans, said Col. Bruce McClintock, commander of the 96th Air Base Wing. “Eglin is undergoing some major changes in our many missions and is looking forward to a bright future,” he said. Those changes include more than $13 million to renovate existing housing and recreation. The project started in 2009 with $7.5 million in improvements. Eglin will start scoping meetings for its latest military housing privatization initiative Jan. 12 at Northwest Florida State College’s Mattie Kelly Arts Center. The meetings are the first step in turning over military housing to private developers. Plans include demolishing some of the area’s current housing, but McClintock did not want to delay housing improvements. “We’ve got to stop waiting for housing and improve the housing we have,” McClintock said last month. Renovations include $1.2 million to replace fixtures in 574 homes and a $5 million budget request to do more extensive renovations to 100 homes. Playground renovations, new bike paths and running tracks are also in the works. Construction for the Joint Strike Fighter Initial Joint Training Center and the 7th SFG (A) compound will continue in 2010. More than $146 million of the training center military construction will be completed in the coming year. Nine facilities will house the initial program. Plans include a $5million dining hall and$15.8million for dormitories that will accommodate 600 students. Air Force and Navy operations hangars with price tags totaling more than $58 million and a $55.8 million training center are expected to open by the 2011 arrival of the program’s first class of pilots. The first aircraft will arrive this spring and be used for instructor training. The 600,000 square-foot 7th Special Forces Group compound near Duke Field includes a gymnasium, dining facility and two group headquarters. With subcontracted work still available and a full year of construction slated, the BRAC projects are expected to have a greater impact this year than in 2009, Breitenfeld said. “Buildings are starting to come out of the ground and go vertical but there’s a tremendous amount left there, easily over $100 million of contracts to be let,” he said. Eglin’s Emerald Breeze Resort on Okaloosa Island also is expected to break ground in 2010. The project was awarded last month to Innisfree Development. The first phase of the $24 million development will feature a beachfront pool, 150 rooms and two commercial spaces that will be available for lease. Future phases include at least 100 additional rooms. One project has been put on hold. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service Lifestyle Center, a Base Exchange shopping center expected to be built outside Eglin’s main gate, might be renewed as early as September upon completion of the F-35’s Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.