A new year brings continued construction on a future transient training brigade headquarters in the 1600 block of the cantonment area at Fort McCoy.

As of Jan. 2, contractor L.S. Black Constructors has one wall built on the new building, and workers continued work all around the grounds. Additionally, steel for framework has started to arrive and more and more infrastructure work from late December is visible throughout the project.

In a Dec. 21 update by Ken Green with the Army Corps of Engineers Program Office at Fort McCoy, he said that ongoing work includes footing and stem wall placement, and other work remains steady as construction completion rose to 9 percent.

The contract for the project, totaling $11,964,432.87, was awarded June 9, 2022, to L.S. Black Constructors to build the fiscal year 2022 Transient Training Brigade Headquarters project. Construction operations began in August 2022.

According to Master Planner Brian Harrie with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works (DPW), the brigade headquarters project is based on the denser, more consolidated footprints of Fort McCoy’s Troop Housing Area Development Plan which states “fewer, multiple story buildings allow facilities/functions to be sited closer together, allowing for a more walkable training environment, as well as saving money on utilities.”

The smaller footprint of the brigade headquarters building plan builds less impervious surface, which generates less stormwater runoff that requires less stormwater management features and allows for additional cost savings.

The floor plan also is based on the “Operational Readiness Training Complex” standard design and additional square footage has been included in this project to accommodate stair and elevator access to the second floor.”

Harrie said the smaller footprint of the brigade headquarters building plan builds less impervious surface, which generates less stormwater runoff that requires less stormwater management features and allows for additional cost savings. The floor plan also is based on the “Operational Readiness Training Complex” standard design and additional square footage has been included in this project to accommodate stair and elevator access to the second floor.”