MINOT AIR FORCE BASE Site work will begin late this month for a 168-room dormitory at Minot Air Force Base, the third new dormitory for the base.
Raass Brothers Inc., a construction firm in Provo, Utah, was awarded the contract for the new dormitory, according to the Programs Flight of the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron at Minot AFB.
Total cost of the dormitory is $19 million and it is scheduled for completion in March 2012, according to Programs Flight information.
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Submitted Photo
Construction crew members tear down an old dormitory building at Minot Air Force Base in July, shown in this photo by Senior Airman Michael J. Veloz. Dormitories on base are being replaced or remodeled in a continued effort to improve the quality of life for Minot AFB airmen.
This spring, the ribbon was cut to officially celebrate the completion of a 144-room dormitory for airmen at the Minot base and ground breaking was held the same day for a 168-room dormitory which will be completed in later 2011.
The 144-room dormitory is the first dormitory built at the base in 30 years and the first in a series of dormitories to be built.
North Dakota's congressional delegation obtained more than $63 million in funds to construct the three dormitories, according to Sen. Kent Conrad's office. The 144-room dormitory was financed with Military Construction funds and the two 168-room dormitories were funded with federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Airmen started moving in to the 144-room dormitory shortly after the ribbon-cutting ceremony there this past spring.
The base also has a major family housing replacement project under way. The family housing project began in 1992. It is scheduled for completion in February 2012, said Renetta Pearson, deputy base civil engineer, in an August story by Eighth Air Force Public Affairs.
Minot AFB has a total population pushing 12,000 people and more are being added with the second squadron of B-52s. The total population includes civilians who work on base.
As of early September, the 69th Bomb Squadron, the newest B-52 squadron, had 74 people assigned to it, according to Michele Tasista, a spokeswoman for Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale AFB, La.
According to the fiscal year 2009 Minot AFB economic impact report, 1,586 active-duty Air Force members and 2,440 of their family members lived on base. Those living off base included 3,280 active-duty Air Force members, five Air Force Reserve members and 3,169 family members of active-duty military.