REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- There's a lot of construction activity going on near Gate 10 -- activity, that is, in terms of renovated facilities, street re-routing and landscape upgrades.
The Arsenal's construction focus throughout 2012 has been on the area that was once occupied by the Ordnance Munitions and Electronics Maintenance School, and involves an area bordered by Patton Road to the east, Aerobee Road to the south, Vincent Drive to the west and Redeye Road to the north.
In 2012, the area welcomed the opening of the Arsenal's One Stop for human resource services, now housed in the renovated Military Personnel facility; the beginnings of a Pershing missile historical park; and the establishment of several service-related organizations in the area.
But, the big moves come in 2013 when several new tenants will move into renovated OMEMS facilities as part of an administrative space realignment plan that also includes a Welcome Center, Education Center, a Judge Advocate General office, and the new headquarters for the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center and the Civilian Human Resources Activity.
"We've made a lot of progress on major renovations in the former OMEMS facilities, particularly those that house Garrison services," Garrison commander Col. John Hamilton said.
"The work we've been doing is progressing extremely well."
Since 2011, the Garrison commander and a team of employees from the Garrison's Directorate of Public Works have been working on an administrative space realignment plan that involves 600,000 square feet of working space and 8,000 employees. In 2016, when all the moves are complete, Redstone tenants will be in locations that take advantage of synergies, offer opportunities for consolidation and new efficiencies, and provide greater capabilities to be effective in support of the nation's war fighters. In addition, the moves will save about $3.8 million a year in lease costs off post.
"The entire area will get a new look in 2013 as organizations move in," Hamilton said.
"As organizations continue to go through transformation, there will be even more opportunities in this area. The space that came open was the space we needed to begin consolidating organizations. There are a number of organizations pretty scattered out all over the Arsenal and with off-post leases. This space allows for more consolidation and for getting out of off-post leases."
Coincidentally, the Garrison's logistical plan for providing tenants with the most efficient working space will start in 2013 at the heart of the Army's premiere logistics program.
Come this January, the Army Materiel Command's Logistics Support Activity -- known as the Army's premiere source of logistics information and expertise -- will become the key to launching the Garrison's plan for moving 8,000 Arsenal employees into newly renovated facilities.
"LOGSA's move to three of the renovated buildings is the first in a series of moves that will take place over the next 2½ or 3 years," Hamilton said.
The first move will involve moving LOGSA employees located in building 5307 at the Sparkman Center, in buildings near Gate 3 on Redstone Road and in buildings off post into the newly renovated building 3303, located on Zeus Road.
"Everything's gone very smoothly with the construction and we've been able to expedite the timeline. The contractors have done an excellent job with schedules and construction," said Kara Malone, project manager for the administrative space realignment project who works for the Directorate of Public Works.
Early plans had building 3303 ready for occupancy by mid to late April 2013. But hard work by contractor CCI and its subcontractors slid that date forward to a January completion. The Corps of Engineers Huntsville Center has also worked to ensure that new office furniture is in place to support the earlier move-in date.
"The Corps of Engineers worked double time to make sure we had the furniture in time for the move," Malone said. "We have a working group that has coordinated and talked and planned to get everyone moved at the right time.
"But it's the Directorate of Public Work's construction and engineering group and the construction crews who have made all this happen. Walls are up, the sheetrock is in, and the break rooms and bathrooms are built out. The floors have been raised for computer wiring. Everything else in 3303 is an open floor plan that will be filled with cubicles."
Then, just north of building 3303, plans are on track to move additional LOGSA employees now located at the Sparkman Center's 5307 into renovated building 3305 in May and renovated building 3307 in August. In addition, the Lead AMC Integration Support Office, will move from the Sparkman Center to the second floor of building 3307.
In all, the number of employees moving into 3303, 3305 and 3307 total nearly 800.
But that's not all for the OMEMS grouping of buildings. Also in the spring of 2013, renovations will be complete on buildings 3300 and 3301, which will be home to the Joint Attack Munition Systems Project Office, Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, now temporarily located in buildings 7612 and 7613 near Gate 3 as their permanent facilities are being readied. Additionally, building 5250 completed renovation in 2012 and is now home for C-RAM (Counter-Rockets, Artillery and Mortar), IAMD (Integrated Air and Missile Defense) and CMDS (Cruise Missile Defense System).
"IAMD and C-RAM moved from off post and CMDS moved from the Sparkman Center," Malone said. "By Sept. 1, more than 800 employees were co-located at building 5250. With the completed moves, PEO Missiles and Space has eliminated the use of off-post leases. At the same time, the move has opened up space for new tenants to reside in the Sparkman Center."
More than 800 employees are now located at building 5250, with 400 of those employees moved out of off-post leased facilities.
Other previous OMEMS buildings have already been occupied by the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, and the Redstone Test Center. Those remaining vacant for now will be repurposed as the Garrison identifies other organizations that can utilize them.
The area's Toftoy Hall (building 3495) on Patton Road, is now undergoing renovation to become the new home of the Education Center (now in building 3222) and AMCOM G-1 (training currently being held at a facility off post on Orange Drive) in the spring of 2013, and buildings 3458 and 3459 are being renovated as the new home of Civilian Personnel Advisory Center and the Civilian Human Resources Activity, now located in the Sparkman Center. In addition, building 3475 will be renovated for the CHRA training center.
There have also been changes pertaining to facilities occupied by the 2nd Recruiting Brigade and the 2nd Medical Recruiting Battalion. The two organizations have consolidated into the brigade's headquarters in building 3435 so that the battalion's previous headquarters in building 3439 can be renovated as the new home of Redstone's Judge Advocate General office, which has moved from building 111 and is temporarily located in building 3494A (the trailer located east of the new One Stop). Renovations are expected to be complete for a January move-in.
"The recruiting brigade and medical recruiting battalion have gone through many fluctuations in staffing. They have similar requirements, so consolidation of their facilities was a good idea for increased efficiencies," Malone said.
Another facility along Hercules Road, building 3215, will be the new home of the Inspector General's office.
The entire area near Gate 10 will have a new look when all the moves are complete, with building exteriors working together to complement each other. Besides the area's new tenants, it is also home to the new One Stop for personnel, badging and housing services; a Welcome Center that will open in the spring with Army Community Service, Child Youth and School Services, travel and leisure services, and the Java Café; a Pershing missile historical park that will physically connect the One Stop and the Welcome Center; and an expanded Bowling Center.
One of the challenges is to ensure the area's infrastructure can meet the needs of the work force.
"When this area is complete, we realize that it will also need services to support the tenant employees," Malone said. "The Welcome Center will include a Java Café, the Bowling Center offers lunch, and the Burger King, Exchange and Commissary are all nearby."
Of course, tenants have already been secured for Sparkman Center buildings that will be vacated with all the moves. Plans are to consolidate AMCOM employees in buildings 5300, 5301, 5302 and the third floor of 5304, and to move employees of the Program Executive Office for Aviation into 5307, 5308, 5309, and the first and second floors of 5304. PEO Aviation is expected to move into their Sparkman Center buildings in the fall, but the organization will keep its headquarters campus at the building 5681 area. The Sparkman Center community also includes the Army Contracting Command-Redstone, which will remain in building 5303.
"After 5307 is vacated by LOGSA and 5304 is vacated by CPAC and CHRA, there will be a lot of movement around the Sparkman Center," Malone said.
"The PEO Aviation piece will be the biggest move. We will be moving three product management offices onto post from off post."
One final piece is the renovation of building 111 on Goss Road (the previous home to the Equal Employment Office now at the One Stop, to the JAG and IG, and to AMCOM G-4, which will move to the Sparkman Center). Once the renovations are complete in the fall, the building will be occupied by PEO Missiles and Space.
The building 111 renovations help to vacate building 4505 on Martin Road, now occupied by PEO Missiles and Space and the Missile Defense Agency. A ground breaking ceremony for Von Braun IV at the Von Braun Complex was held in September and, once this building is complete, all MDA employees located at building 4505 will be moved to the Von Braun Complex. Then, building 4505 will be renovated as the new headquarters of the Army Contracting
Command/Expeditionary Contracting Command, which is now located in trailers north of the OMEMS area.
Moving so many tenants and their employees takes a lot of coordination and pre-planning. A working group with representation of each of the tenants meets monthly to work out details that are then presented quarterly to the Garrison leadership.
"We have been having a lot of discussion about these moves in our working groups. There are a lot of details that have to be looked into and decided on," Malone said. "We have so many people moving that logistics can be complicated at times."
The Garrison has received positive feedback about the administrative space realignment plan and the moves associated with it.
"I think all the organizations are getting excited now that they are seeing the changes in these buildings," Malone said. "Moving is always stressful and people can be resistant to change. But now that everything is taking shape, there's more anticipation rather than hesitation regarding the moves.
"Everyone understands that what we are doing with these moves is creating efficiencies, getting people off post located on post and putting organizations together where they should be instead of being scattered."
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