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NAVFAC, Small Business Building Energy-Efficient Center for Ohio Reservists

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100511-18
5/11/2010

By Bill Couch, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Midwest Public Affairs

AKRON, Ohio (NNS) -- Representatives of the Navy, Ohio National Guard, and an Ohio small business partnership joined local officials in breaking ground on an $11-million armed forces reserve center at the Akron-Canton regional airport May 5.

The new building, to be built on airport land adjacent to an existing Ohio National Guard facility, is part of a 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission decision to consolidate Navy and Marine Corps Reserve units currently based around northeast Ohio. The 50,000-square-foot building will support approximately 500 selected Reserve and active-duty Sailors and Marines who conduct operational and humanitarian assistance missions worldwide.

"We have 31 Sailors mobilized from the Akron [Navy Operational Support Center], headed for Iraq and Afghanistan. NOSC Sailors also perform funeral honors for veterans in our local communities, and they volunteer for wonderful projects like Habitat for Humanity," said Capt. Peter Davenport, commanding officer of Navy Region Midwest Reserve Component Command. "This facility will take these local citizens who live and work in town and help them as they volunteer to go forward and do important work nearby and around the world."

The new facility will include a service bay and secure parking area for Marine vehicles, an armory, a medical suite, offices, electronic learning areas, and a 1,500-square-foot gymnasium.

Middletown, Ohio-based Better Built Construction Services, Inc. was awarded the project along with its Lansing, Mich.-based partner Clark Construction Co. in February. The building is designed to be energy efficient and sustainable, meeting at least the "silver" standard under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

"We appreciate the opportunity to perform this project in support of you, our service members," said Karen Halsey, president of Better Built Construction. "We're committed to providing you a technically sound, efficient, cutting-edge facility to support your training. We understand that having a trained force is critical."

Under the U.S. Small Business Administration's 8(a) mentor-protégé program, the Native American woman-owned Better Built will perform the work while benefiting from Clark's guidance and experience.

"We really enjoy working with blue-chip organizations, including the Army and the Navy," said Nick Freund, project manager for Clark Construction. "You share our values and commitment to projects like this, and we're looking forward to getting started."

Representatives from Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Midwest said they were excited to kick off construction of the command's final BRAC 2005 project.

"As a reservist myself, I understand the importance of training in a facility that adequately supports your mission," said Cmdr. Jeff McGowan, head of Public Works Department Central within NAVFAC Midwest. "You deserve the highest quality facility we can provide -- at the right cost, in a timely manner. I'm confident we're building a great facility that will support you and bring added security within the fenceline of the Army National Guard installation."

Jack Lee, assistant quartermaster general of the Ohio National Guard and a recently retired brigadier general in the Guard, expressed the Guard's support of the project.

"This helps us all -- the National Guard, the Navy and Marines, and the airport," said Lee. "We're happy to help provide a secure facility, and we're looking forward to having you here in the community. Anything you need, just ask."

The project is expected to be completed in June 2011.

NAVFAC Midwest provides civil engineering, public works, and environmental support to Navy, Marine Corps and other Department of Defense activities across the 16 states that comprise Navy Region Midwest. The command's 900 professionals include civilian architects, engineers, acquisition specialists, environmental specialists, public works trades people, and administrative personnel, as well as active-duty Civil Engineer Corps officers, Seabees, and Reservists.