FORT CAMPBELL – Fort Campbell officials including Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell held a ground-breaking ceremony Friday for a new 63,134 square foot Commissary, located on a 12 acre site.
The new $21,980,000 Commissary is expected to be completed in June 2011, replacing the existing structure which has been in use since 1974, and remodeled several times.
The new facility will be one of the largest in the Department of Defense, with nearly double the available parking spaces, 2 entrances, more cold storage capacity, wider aisles and more shelving space. The new facility will also be Eco-friendly with measures taken to reduce the need for environmental heating & cooling, along with the associated electrical use.
The General Contractor is Caddell Construction Company Inc. out of Montgomery Alabama, the Architects are The Jenkins Group, Inc. out of Itasca Illinois.
Representing the City of Clarksville were City Councilwomen Deanna McLaughlin, and Barbara Johnson. Mayor Piper was invited, but was unable to attend. Mayor Dan Potter was on hand representing the city of Oak Grove, KY.
The Fort Campbell Commissary reports $72 million a year in sales.
According to Sharon Parton the Commissary director, the need for the new facility is clear “We have seen a 14% increase in sales as units of the 101st return from their recent deployments.” she also pointed out that while the average store generates $2.38 per square foot, the Fort Campbell facility tops $4.65 per square foot.
The first Commissary was built on Camp Campbell in 1948. In 1960 it moved to a new location on Ohio street. It was moved to its current location in 1974.
Planners hope to covert the current Commissary facility into a Soldier Support Readiness Center basically a one-stop processing center for checking in and taking care of all the needed paperwork required for soldiers new to Fort Campbell and their families.
Gallery
Program
- Welcome
- Honor to Nation
- Invocation by Chaplin (COL) Kenneth Brown
- History of Commissary
- Remarks by CSM Vincit
- Major General John F. Campbell, Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell
- Groundbreaking
- Screaming Eagle Song
- The Army Song
- Reception
