New Cumberland, Pa. -- Col. Kent Savre, commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Atlantic Division, joined other dignitaries at the Nov. 28 groundbreaking event for the new $95 million Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) headquarters here.
"This will be a state-of-the-art building," said Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek, director, DLA, and the event host. The groundbreaking took place on the hill overlooking the site where construction was already underway for the new headquarters.
"In our partnering, we are giving you our A Team," Savre noted. "We have a wealth of experience supporting DLA in the Baltimore District including our Project Manager Alexandra Crawford, our Project Engineer John Eckinrode and our Harrisburg Area Engineer Dawn Conniff."
Savre committed to the audience of over 80 people and the DLA leadership that the Corps would "deliver this building safely and on time."
In August 2012, the Baltimore District awarded the contract to Walsh Construction, Chicago, Il. The 265,000 square foot facility will accommodate 965 employees. It will be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, life safety, force protection and energy conservation requirements. The new headquarters is designed to achieve the Leadership in Energy Efficiency (LEED) Silver rating. The contract includes removal of several buildings to consolidate personnel now working in multiple dispersed locations on the installation.
Other dignitaries included Brig. Gen. Susan Davidson, commander of the DLA Distribution, William Budden, Senior Executive Service and deputy commander, and Rob Montefour, DLA Installation Support site director.
The headquarters will be located on the 850 acre installation known as Defense Distribution Susquehanna, Pa. The overall mission includes distribution of military and commercial repair parts, clothing and textiles, medical supplies and industrial and electronic components to military customers throughout the United States and the world.
In his comments, Savre also emphasized how DLA supports his command. "Your work has a personal impact on the North Atlantic Division. Right now, we have over 70 people deployed in support of overseas contingency operations." Also, DLA provided the pumps needed by the Corps in its recent dewatering mission in New York and New Jersey following Hurricane Sandy.
The DLA headquarters is planned to be completed in late 2015.