Construction builds ‘new face' of Moody

  • Published
  • By Capt. Gary Arasin
  • 347th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Workers running a small army of excavators and cranes armed with steel beams created a flurry of activity in recent weeks at the site of the new Consolidated Base Support Center along Austin Ellipse.

At nearly 20 percent complete, the project is on schedule to meet the completion date of February 2007, said Bill Bryan, 347th Civil Engineer Squadron chief engineer.

The crews finished sewer and water connections recently, and this week wrapped up the electrical work on the $9.1 million facility.

The wing command section and the staff agencies are currently housed in the World War II-era buildings dotting the ellipse. The designers planned for the new building to be a one-stop shop for base customers. The mission support and comptroller squadrons will be among the functions consolidated in the new 51,000 square-foot facility.

Planners decided on a new approach to designing the building's interior. An interior designer will be hired to coordinate and serve as the focal point for the approximately $1.5 million furniture purchase.

"We have a state-of-the-art facility, so we wanted to ensure there was a common professional theme in the building," he said. "The designer will help the functional areas meet their needs while keeping a consistency in the look of the offices."

Except for the current child development center annex, long-term planning originally called for demolition of the buildings currently along the ellipse and closure of the straight-away portions of the oval drive. The current CDC annex would eventually become a museum showcasing the history of the base and its relationship with the local communities.

At least for the short term, however, Air Force plans have forced wing leadership and CES engineers to reevaluate those plans.

"If Moody is chosen to host the CBAT (Common Battlefield Airmen Training) and serve as the CSAR-X test site, we are going to need to have a place to put their command functions," said Mr. Bryan. "Rather than bring in trailers to house those activities, the current facilities can serve interim until we get projects funded."

With the announcement of the "new" A-10 mission returning to Moody, Mr. Bryan said CES engineers sat down with developers to hammer out a long-term plan for the base. The plan calls for several campus-style areas on base, which will compartmentalize various functions including the industrial area and a collegiate-style dormitory campus taking form on the south side of the new CBSC.

In addition to the A-10s from 23rd Fighter Group, 10 other "aircraft" may find their way from Pope Air Force Base, N.C. Static aircraft displays currently housed at Pope have been incorporated into the plan the design team developed, said Mr. Bryan. Tentative plans call for several displays to be placed at the Airman Leadership School and the various buildings occupying the CBSC area.

Although there will be no regularly programmed military construction projects for Moody in 2007, several projects recently received funding and are now in the design stages. Meant to meet the requirements of the A-10 beddown set forth by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, the three projects include a $7.7 million two-bay hangar, a $3.85 million weapons release shop and $1.5 million airfield pavement/trim pad project.

In addition to all the work being done at the heart of the base, crews are also making headway on privatize housing at the Magnolia Grove housing site just south of Moody.
URS Inc. Construction Manager Jack Kidd said the first 60-plus homes are scheduled for turnover to the base in September. Officials are optimistic families should be able to start moving in before the upcoming holidays.

After several delays, crews are making headway with more than 100 foundations poured, 29 homes in various stages of framing and nearly one-half of the utilities connections in place.

Although behind schedule on the first stage of the project, company officials expressed to CES officials they still intend on meeting the overall project completion date of September 2007.

The Moody privatize housing project calls for 606 units when completed. A total of 303 new homes are being built including 18 senior leader homes for the wing's senior officers and noncommissioned officers. The construction of the senior leader housing, to be built at the site of the two-story homes in the current housing area, will start when crews wrap up the first phase of the new housing project.

Developed prior to the BRAC announcement, the current project was meant to alleviate the base's current housing deficit. An additional housing project is being looked at to support the nearly 1,100 people coming to Moody as part of the A-10 mission. Part of the additional housing planning process calls for a community housing survey, said Mr. Bryan.

"We have to see what the current state of home construction is like in neighboring communities," said Mr. Bryan. "Once we make the determination of how much of the new population can be supported by the local economy, we can determine if we need additional base housing."