RICHMOND, Virginia –
On a crisp fall day, a ground-breaking ceremony was held on Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia, for the much anticipated construction of the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation Operations Center in the paved area of I Road, directly in front of Building 31, C and D Bays.
The Oct. 15, 2015 ceremony was hosted by DLA Aviation Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Allan Day. Among those in attendance were Chesterfield County Administrator James Stegmaier; DLA Headquarters Installation Support Director Denise Miller; Elaine Lee, president of the Bellwood Women’s club; past DLA Aviation’s Hall of Fame inductees; and representing Congressman Randy Forbes’ Office, District Director, Western Region and District Military Liaison Ronald White.
David Gibson, DLA Installation Support at Richmond site director, welcomed attendees, saying “We are very excited about this project.” The project has been in the works for about a decade. In 2005, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers helped conduct a Project Justification Document outlining the need for the building and the scope of the construction. From there it went to DLA Headquarters for approval, then to Congress and finally to the president.
Day told attendees he recognizes this has been a long journey that couldn’t have reached this point without the help of a lot of people touching the process.
“It takes a team, thanks for coming to celebrate this part of the journey with us,” Day said. “I get the blessing of doing the groundbreaking, but like my predecessors who started the project, I won’t get to inhabit the building; my successor will.”
The five-story glass and brick structure, approved by Congress in January 2014, will replace Buildings 31 and 32 A-E Bays, include a new Center Restaurant, and connect to the existing Frank B. Lotts Conference Center. In keeping with responsible financial stewardship, included in this phase is the installation of more than 200 geothermal wells which are part of an environmentally friendly, energy efficient system that lowers energy costs and helps DLA meet its federal energy goals.
The Operations Center construction will be completed in three phases. The ground-breaking ceremony officially begins Phase I construction, which is 252,000 square-feet and will house around 875 employees.
Upon completion of Phase I, directorates that will occupy the building include: Customer Operations, Procurement Process Support, Business Process Support, Command Support, DLA Information Operations at Richmond, DLA Training; DLA Human Resources Services, DLA Distribution at Richmond, and the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1992. The projected move in date is late 2018 to early 2019.
Phase II and III are in the preliminary stages. The goal is to complete Phase II in 2019 and Phase III in 2021.
“It is going to be a great space to work in; one you will be very proud of,” said Day. “The energy efficient, state-of-the-art building will be move-in ready in just under three years.”