[SA] Two High-rise buildings for Fort Sam?

[sirkingwilliam]

I ask/assume because there isn't a lot of developable land in Fort Sam Houston for such a large project. Also, they're expecting 27,000 students a year.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business...t.2f8ed0f.html

$140 million Fort Sam contract approved

Web Posted: 02/13/2008 09:13 PM CST

L.A. Lorek
Express-News Business Writer

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday awarded a $140 million contract for two Fort Sam Houston dormitories, the largest contract so far related to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process.

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Greeley, Colo., will build the dormitories on the Medical Education and Training Campus.

"The pace of construction is certainly going to escalate very quickly at Fort Sam Houston," said Randy Holman, project manager for the Corps of Engineers in San Antonio.

Altogether, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers plans to award $2 billion worth of contracts on 78 major facilities to be built or renovated as part of the BRAC process. When the work is finished by 2011, the Medical Education and Training Campus will serve as the training center for all medical enlisted personnel.

"Once the Medical Education and Training Campus is complete, this will be one of the largest medical training education institutions in the world," Holman said.

The complex is expected to have an average daily student enrollment of more than 9,000.

"This is the first in a suite of facilities geared to house the troops in the medical training campus," he said.

In addition to the dorms, the campus will include about 1.2 million square feet of instructional and laboratory space and a dining hall large enough to accommodate 2,400 people, Holman said. It also will have physical fitness facilities and a recreation center, he said.

Contracts related to those projects and another dormitory will be awarded in the next few weeks, he said.

"This is the start of a very significant process to get the campus ready to bring in troops," Holman said.

This is the second large contract awarded as part of BRAC in San Antonio. The other went to Gilbane Building Co. last October. It is building a $92 million Joint Center of Excellence for Battlefield Health and Trauma at Fort Sam Houston.

As part of the BRAC process, the military will relocate several administrative and medical training missions to San Antonio. The military plans to start bringing in troops for training around 2010, he said.

[sirkingwilliam]

I found this master plan of the area where the two dormitories are going in.

Illustrated master plan


Aerial of same area

[KevinFromTexas]

There are a good bit of empty (grassy) lots there and parking lots. I hope they go high though. That's a lot of stuff to be packing in there so it would be smart to make it dense. Plus it would be nice to see some more highrises around there before you get to downtown.

[bluedogok]

I worked on office building schemes for Fort Sam off/on for two years at my former firm. The project finally came through, they started designing a six story office building last November.

[sirkingwilliam]

2 billion dollars of new construction at Fort Sam is going to bring a lot of interesting stuff. Also, the separate commercial development including a hotel and Shops at La Cantera like shopping center.

[SADWatcher]

The Fort Sam projects, Walters St bridge redevelopment, and Rackspace doing there thing at the Windsor Park Mall area should definatly make the drive into downtown from I35 going into downtown a lot more pleasing to the eye. Hopefully this will draw the additional developement to the area.

[sirkingwilliam]

Also, the city is looking to rezone Government Hill to add more dense multi-family type housing.

Not to toot my own horn but I was said I was expecting that to happen a while back in another thread prior to the seeing saying they looking into doing that.

[adtobias]

that means more traffic in that area

[Trae]

Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam

Also, the city is looking to rezone Government Hill to add more dense multi-family type housing.

To toot my own horn, I was said I was expecting that to happen a while back in another thread prior to the seeing saying they looking into doing that.

Fixed.