FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (May 24, 1984) -- A ground breaking ceremony for the new post commissary to be built next to the shopping complex at Mac Arthur and Mapes roads, was held here Friday [May 18, 1984].
Construction and equipment will cost close to $11 million, according to a Troop Support Agency official.
The ground breaking marks the end of a planning phase that began in 1977, said Brig. Gen. James S. Hayes, commander of the U.S. Army Troop Support Agency, Fort Lee, Va.
Hayes, guest speaker and one of five ground breakers at the ceremony, said the need for a new commissary here was formally recognized in 1977. In August 1982 approval to begin design was granted, Hayes said.
Funding for commissary projects comes from surcharge earnings. "Commissary customers pay a five percent surcharge which is added to the amount of purchases ... at check out time," Hayes said.
Construction of the commissary will take about 21 months according to Lt. Col. Louis J. Martinez, deputy district engineer for military construction with the Baltimore District Corps of Engineers.
At almost 119,000 square feet, the commissary replacing the "antiquated warehouse structures" will be three times the size of today's average large supermarket, Martinez said.
Warehouses constructed in 1917 have served as the post commissary facility for 23 years, according to Hayes.
According to Martinez, also a guest speaker and ground breaker at the ceremony, the new commissary is scheduled to open its doors to shoppers in January 1986.
The design of the new commissary stresses state-of-the art operational concepts, according to a TSA official.
The commissary's shopping area will contain 22 checkout lanes, according to Martinez. There are 13 in the present commissary.
Computerized scanning registers will be installed, giving customers faster service, improving cashier accuracy and providing item consumption information, according to Hayes.
The item consumption data "offers a means to track promotional activity, helps in developing shelf space allocation and assists in eliminating slow moving items from stock," Hayes said.
The aisles will be 10 feet wide in the cold and frozen foods section and eight feet in other areas, accordion to Charles R. Leslie, commissary officer here.
"The present commissary aisles are less than five feet wide," Leslie said.
According to Martinez, the new store will have conveniences for shoppers such as:
- The latest display equipment
- Complete deli and baker facilities
- Ample storage and preparation areas
- Office and administrative space
- Plenty of room for grocery card handling
- Covered loading platforms
- Restrooms
- Parking space for close to 600
There will be several handicap-accessible checkouts as well as parking spaces, according to post chief master planner, Leayle G. Galiber.
For the comfort of shoppers, the commissary will also have skylights, Galiber said.
"The commissary will be one of the largest structures on post to be used as it was designed to be," Galiber said.
The present commissary facility is overcrowded and outdated, according to Hayes.
With as many commissary that are in need of modernization or construction, the"worse of the worst" gets top priority, Hayes said.
"That's what we have here at Fort Meade," Hayes said.
"For all the efforts made by commissary personnel (here), shopping is usually considered a hassle," Post Commander, Col. Donald S. Fujitani, said.
Fujitani was a speaker and ground breaker at the ceremony, as well as Col. Graham J. Norton Jr., engineer and housing director here, and Debbie Robinson, community life program mayor here.
According to a TSA official, many energy saving features have been incorporated into the design, such as:
A system that reclaims heat rejected by refrigerator compressors;
An under-the-floor air return system that redistributes cool air from refrigerator display cases;
A dimmer system that automatically reduces sales area lights whenever sunlight exceeds present levels;
A system that automatically lowers temperatures when the commissary is unoccupied.
Both the present commissary and the Ernie Pyle commissary annex will shut down upon the opening of the new commissary, said Roy H. Ballinger, Northeast Commissary Region Director for TSA.
"The new commissary will definitely be opened at least six days a week," Bellinger said, "on probably a Tuesday through Sunday schedule."
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