Despite delays, KMCC opening growing near

  • Published
  • By Darlene Y. Cowsert
  • USAFE Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  Although it's too early to mark the grand opening on the new 2009 kitchen calendar, the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center opening date is one that's growing closer.

Scores of contractors are now on site daily to complete construction, inside and out. Today, passersby can notice visible progress, such as the nearly completed staircase and railing at the Visiting Quarters entrance, new lawn and trees surrounding the complex and four cranes supporting work on the roof. Inside the massive "installation," workers continue tile work in the nine-vendor food court; flooring, woodwork and booth installation at Romano's Macaroni Grill; mechanical work in the Hofbrau Haus, kitchen equipment installation in the Sports Lounge, plumbing in the bakery and wall finish work in the hallways of the 350-room visiting quarters.

"We're definitely encouraged by the progress since spring, and looking forward to opening as much as everyone else in the KMC," said Col. David Reynolds, USAFE's KMCC resident director.

Construction of the visiting quarters is in the final stages and the mall and shop portions of the KMCC complex are not far behind, barring any uncertainties. "According to the construction completion schedule provided by the German government authority in charge of construction, Landesbetrieb Liegenschafts-und Baubetreuung (LBB), we anticipate the food court, mall concessions, BX, theater and 350-room visiting quarters will open in phases through the summer," Colonel Reynolds said.

"It's important to understand with a complex of this size, 844,000 square feet, we can't go from construction completion right to the grand opening," Colonel Reynolds said. "To put it into context, 844,000 square feet is about 5 times the amount of sales space AAFES currently operates at Ramstein and Vogelweh. The logistics for such a move-in are immense and will consume thousands of man-hours between the end of construction and the anticipated opening days."

Planning for this effort is critical, Colonel Reynolds said, as AAFES alone will have to move into and furnish 436,000 square feet. Retail categories such as furniture, sporting goods, and the PowerZone will all greatly expand and inventory on hand will almost triple. In addition to the base exchange, the AAFES portion will include a four-plex theater with stadium seating for 500, New Car Sales, a shoppette and a Class 6 store.

435th Services Squadron will operate about 210,590 square feet of retail and lodging space, including an outdoor recreation facility complete with a two-story climbing wall, the Ramstein Tickets and Tours Office, Romano's Macaroni Grill restaurant, a sports lounge offering local cuisine and the visiting quarters tower.

"Operation Smooth Move" has already been implemented to facilitate the transition to opening. "We'll first complete a plethora of testing, training and inspection processes," said Jerome Hudson, the KMCC lead for Operation Smooth Move. "USAFE and 435th Air Base Wing agencies are coordinating now for a logical and timely schedule to accomplish testing of infrastructure systems, such as communications, fire, alarms and heating and cooling," he said. The entire facility must also be inspected by bioenvironmental, fire, and public heath, and personnel must be trained to operate and maintain the systems, he added.

Utilizing a detailed schedule, everything from telephones to furnishings and merchandise will be moved into the complex in an orchestrated manner, Mr. Hudson said. Given the diversity of concessions and services offered, moving furniture, supplies and merchandise can take as little as one day for small kiosks, and as long as 90 days for the larger venues.

"Because we'll have a series of phased openings rather than a single grand opening," we know it's critical to keep everyone in the KMC informed," Colonel Reynolds said. "We realize everyone in the KMC is anxious to see the doors open, and we'll provide schedule updates through announcements in the KA, the Ramstein and USAFE Web sites, and AFN Radio."

Note to Editor: A year ago the German government and USAFE were striving to get construction of the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center project re-energized. Difficult contractual and construction management issues caused the workforce to dwindle to a handful of local German contractors. Plans to step up the pace were on the table but had not yet materialized. That situation has improved significantly over the last eight months.