News
Fort Bragg's Annual Construction Update
- Details
- Published: 23 November 2015 23 November 2015
At the RLUAC quarterly meeting held on May 21st, Greg Bean, Director of Fort Bragg’s Directorate of Public Works (DPW), noted that for more than a decade now Fort Bragg has been in the midst of its biggest construction boom since World War II. For the past thirty years it has been averaging over $188 million in construction per year. Although slowing, there is still a lot of money currently being spent on new construction at the Fort.
Before describing the construction projects planned and currently underway, Bean gave some interesting Fort Bragg facts – it has a land area of 162,816 acres and 52.2 million square feet of buildings as of 2014.
Bean explained that projects currently underway on the fort total $666 million – this includes major projects at the Old Division Area (demolishing the remaining World War II buildings), a new Corps Command & Control facility in the Main Post area, a new elementary school in Linden Oaks, and major new construction projects at the JFK Warfare Center, the USASOC area, and Patriot’s Point (the old ammunition supply point). There are several major projects involving renovations at the Womack Army Hospital and development of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence. AAFES is also doing major new construction work at the Airborne Mini Mall and Airborne Gruber Mini Mall.
Finally, Bean highlighted the ongoing efforts to extend future I-295 to and beyond the All American Freeway.
For more detailed information, please view the PowerPoint presentation.
Declining Demand for Building Permits in the Fort Bragg Region
- Details
- Published: 23 November 2015 23 November 2015
- Numbers are Significantly Lower than the NC Average
At the RLUAC quarterly meeting conducted on May 21st Robert Farrell, Hoke County’s Planning Director, presented some very interesting findings from a study that he recently completed concerning residential building construction trends within the Fort Bragg Region over the past five years . His sources of information included Fort Bragg, the US Census Bureau, and data provided by local county departments.
He found that most of the counties within the region have experienced a significant drop in the number of new homes being constructed since 2010. Yet, the overall number of new housing units state-wide has remained fairly constant over the same time period.
In trying to determine what might be contributing to the construction decline in the Fort Bragg region, Robert contacted staff at the Fort. They explained that from a troop strength high of 153,000 soldiers in 2012 and 2013, the number has declined to 149,000 troops in 2014. They are expected to drop even further this year -- to approximately 146,500 soldiers.
In addition, Robert discovered that the average price of new homes in the Fort Bragg region has dropped from a little over $155,000 in 2013 to a little higher than $140,000 in 2015. He observed that during that same period construction labor costs rose from $22.51 per hour in April 2012 to $25.13 in December of 2014. Also, Robert discovered that the cost of residential building materials rose by 45% over the past decade.
It is likely that speculation concerning the massive population growth in the Fort Bragg region, which was projected as a result of the 2005 BRAC (and did not actually occur) led to the over-construction of new residential units and has contributed to the current glut of unsold units.
RLUAC - FY 2014-15 Annual Report
- Details
- Published: 31 August 2015 31 August 2015
Please click here to review the RLUAC FY 2014-15 Annual Progress Report.