FY 2022-funded barracks project at 27 percent completion at Fort McCoy as August begins

Photo By Scott Sturkol | The construction area for a new $28.08 million barracks building is shown July 24, 2024, at Fort McCoy, Wis., as progress on the facility continues. The contractor for the project, BlindermanPower (Construction), received the notice to proceed with construction on Sept. 26, 2023, and has 780 calendar days to complete the project. The project requires building a four-story, 60,000-square-foot barracks about to house 400 people. Two other barracks of the same specifications have already been built in the same block at the installation since 2019. Overall, it is part of a big transformation taking place at the 1600 block that includes the building of four barracks — two of which are already done, three brigade headquarters buildings, and two planned transient training officer quarters, according to the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works. This project is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

08.06.2024

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                                

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Floor by floor and section by section the exterior walls of the fiscal year 2022-funded Transient Training Troop Barracks Project, also referred to as the South Barracks Project, have been nearly completely covered since the beginning of July and now progress stands at 27 percent complete as August 2024 begins.

Contractor BlindermanPower (Construction) got the contract to build the facility in June 2023 at just over $28 million, and they’ve maintained steady progress on the project since they initiated the framework at the end of January.

In his Aug. 5 update, Ken Green with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Resident Office at Fort McCoy, said the progress of the project is on schedule.

He stated in the update that structural steel punch out continues as well as steel stud and exterior sheeting installation continues. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-in also continued and the building of an air barrier was also continuing.

The updated also shows there’s work going on with interior stud framing as well as masonry and roof blocking work being completed.

Overall, according to specifications and the scope of work, the barracks will be more than 60,000 square feet and able to house more than 400 people when full. Previous news articles have stated the statement of work for the project states the contractor will make the building be made of “permanent construction with reinforced concrete foundations; concrete floor slabs; structural steel frames; steel stud infill; masonry veneer walls; prefinished standing seam metal roofing; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning capabilities; plumbing; mechanical systems; and electrical systems. Supporting facilities include land clearing, concrete sidewalk paving, general site improvements, and utility connections.”

The building also is being built with the latest in construction materials and include state-of-the-art physical security and energy-saving measures.

The contract duration is scheduled for completion in 780 calendar days, Green said. “The current contract completion date is Oct. 2, 2025,” Green also wrote in the Aug. 5 update, too.

The new barracks align with the U.S. Army’s commitment to improving quality of life within its installations and communities, shows the service’s committed goals on quality of life for housing at https://www.army.mil/qualityoflife/housing.html.

“Quality housing for Soldiers and their families contributes to Army readiness. Army leaders are committed to improving housing conditions,” the website states.

The site also states, “The Army is investing on average a billion dollars a year to renovate and build new barracks.” Additionally, it states, “The Army plans to renovate or replace more than 1,200 barracks over a ten-year period.”

The South Barracks Project is the third large barracks to be built on Fort McCoy in the last five years. It’s part of the continuing transformation of the 1600 block of the cantonment area of the installation that improves quality of life on the post for decades to come as well as serves as a basis of transformation for the future, officials said.

Projects like this also play a part in supporting the economic impact to local economies around Fort McCoy. When looking back the last five years, Fort McCoy’s economic impact has continuously been $1 billion or higher every year to local economies. In FY 2019 it was $1.18 billion, all the way to FY 2023’s $1.38 billion.

Installation leaders have said in the past that the economic impact of Fort McCoy is a “driver of the economy” because of millions of dollars from contracts and new construction as examples. Learn more about Fort McCoy’s impact by checking out the installation’s 2024 Executive Summary at https://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/71646.

Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”

• Date Taken: 08.06.2024
• Date Posted: 08.06.2024 12:12
• Story ID: 477900
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US