from staff
A ground breaking ceremony was held Wednesday at Naval Air Station Jacksonville for the new Navy Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast Engineering Operations Center. The event also celebrated the command’s first anniversary after reorganizing to be aligned with Commander Navy Region Southeast by combining its Charleston, S. C. and Jacksonville offices last year as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC).
The building will accommodate more than 350 jobs that will move to Jacksonville next year. As part of the realignment, the command has tripled in size bringing its current workforce to about 1,800 people with 680 to be located in this area.
The new building will include a two-story administrative facility to house engineering and acquisition functions. The project also involves renovations to the command’s current space at NAS Jacksonville.
NAVFAC Southeast awarded the $14.6 million design and construction contract Jan. 29 to The Haskell Company. The building is scheduled to be complete next summer.
NAVFAC Southeast manages the planning, design construction, contingency engineering, real estate, environmental and public works support for U. S. Navy shore facilities throughout the region. NAVFAC is a global organization with an annual volume in business of more than $11 billion.