Fort McCoy installation leadership and civilian contractors donned hard hats and used golden shovels Sept. 28 to break ground for the construction of the Annual Training/Mobilization (AT/MOB) barracks.
"This is a historic event," said Darrell Neitzel, director of the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) at Fort McCoy, "This is the first permanent Soldier training barracks that has been built at Fort McCoy, ever."
The building will be located in the 2800-2900 blocks of Fort McCoy.
Fort McCoy Senior Commander Maj. Gen. Glenn J. Lesniak emphasized the historical significance of the event in his remarks at the ceremony. "The landmark look that you see at Fort McCoy was originated in 1942. More than 1,500 facilities were built to support operations for about five years. Today, 272 of those facilities are still in use as barracks."
"The landmark look will be replaced with the look of the AT/MOB facility," Lesniak said. "It's the first brick-and-mortar barracks building to ever be built at Fort McCoy. It will be a two-story structure and house 168 personnel."
The barracks design is adapted from the design active-duty installations use; it will replicate a housing complex environment with laundry and other facilities located in the area, he said.
The facility is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certified.
LEED is a green building certification system that takes into account the building site's sustainability and regional priority, the building's water efficiency and energy usage, the materials and resources used to construct the building, its innovation in design and the building's indoor environmental quality.
"It's a step toward modernizing Fort McCoy so it can be in service for the next 100 years," Lesniak said.
Modernizing Fort McCoy is an ongoing process that has included more than $98 million in renovation projects from fiscal year 2008--2011, according to the DPW Master Planning Division. DPW, with support by the post, and support by congressional leaders and local communities, has done a tremendous job with the renovations and upgrades at Fort McCoy, Lesniak said. A testament to the outstanding upgraded facilities at Fort McCoy was given by the commander from the last unit to mobilize at Fort McCoy. "He said this is the best site he has ever mobilized from and gave Fort McCoy a number of other compliments about the services and facilities," Lesniak said.
Following his remarks Lesniak, along with Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. David E. Chesser, Project Engineer for the Army Corp of Engineers Roy E. Brewer, Four Bears Construction Inc. Contractor Representative Elmer L. Hanson, and TCI Architects/Engineers/Contractor Inc. Contractor Representative Darell S. Harlin broke ground at the construction site. Garrison Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Rob Humphrey and Garrison Command Sergeant Major Command Sgt. Maj. William T. Bissonette Jr. also accompanied the group.
The Army Corp of Engineers Fort McCoy project office will oversee the project. Four Bears/TCI Joint Venture is the contractor for this design/build project. The project will cost just over $6.8 million. The completion date is expected by Oct. 1, 2012.
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