NORFOLK, Virginia –
DLA Distribution commanding general Army Brig. Gen. John S. Laskodi, DLA Distribution Norfolk, Va., commander Navy Capt. Harry Thetford, and deputy commander Denise Cordeiro cut the ribbon on newly renovated office space during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Nov. 28.
Responding to the pressures of World War II, the Naval Supply Center, Norfolk headquarters building, W-143, was constructed in 1942. In 1948, the Navy's largest, most complete supply point was officially established as a Naval Supply Center when the Naval Supply Depot consolidated all supply activities and related functions located within the confines of the Norfolk Naval Station.
It was designed as ten six-story high rise structures standing side-by-side separated by fire doors. Each section is equipped with separate electrical vaults, sprinkler risers, water supplies and emergency exits. Each six-story section is supported by a freight elevator or a bank of passenger elevators.
The building is a square U-shaped structure with loading docks in the center section to accommodate train cars which were backed down the tracks located between the north and south sections. The receiving department offloaded the incoming supplies and the shipping department filled the train cars with materials and supplies for other destinations. Although the open air sides are now covered, the loading docks remain in place today with a portion housing DLA's conveyor system.
On March 16, 1992, the Department of Defense accelerated its planned transfer of warehousing operations to the DLA. The Defense Distribution Depot Norfolk, Va., assumed warehouse operations responsibilities while NSC Norfolk continued to perform consumer inventory management, regional procurement, financial services, personal property management, water freight transportation, fueling operations and customer operations in support of Navy customers.
All Naval Supply Centers and Naval Supply Depots were renamed Fleet and Industrial Supply Centers March 1, 1993. The name changed to NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Norfolk July 1, 2011 to represent a new era in support and service to fleet units and the industrial establishment.
Originally DLA occupied the majority of the facility, but as a result of a consolidation effort in 2006 DLA returned a portion of their space to their host organization, NAVSUP. As a result of the consolidation efforts, the DLA administrative and support functions were scattered throughout the building, and there was no clear DLA presence.
The development of a consolidation project began in 2009 but was delayed numerous times. The final concept was established in 2013 and design was completed in 2014. Project funding was provided by DLA Distribution at the end of fiscal year 2014, with construction beginning in early 2015. The project addressed four separate sections of the first floor. The area housing the Command Suite, Safety, Security, Facilities and Integrity divisions was completed in May, with the furniture installation following. The second and third areas are now complete and the contractor began renovating the fourth and final section at the end of November. This phase of the renovation should be complete by April, 2017.
As a result of the consolidation project, there is now a distinctive DLA presence immediately visible upon entering the lobby area. Building W-143 is a permanent Tidewater area landmark and is the Navy's largest and oldest supply center.