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# Ceremony marks last steel beam to frame new Aviation Ops Center 

By Amy T. Clement

                Richmond, Va.  –              
Defense Logistics Agency Aviation Commander Brig. Gen. Allan Day participated in a topping off ceremony Nov. 3, as the last structural beam to be placed on Phase I of the new DLA Aviation Operations Center at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia, was signed. 

Hensel Phelps, the contractor constructing the building, along with representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District, and DLA Installation Support at Richmond, were also at the event, which marked a milestone in the ongoing construction project, which officially began Oct. 15, 2015, in a ground breaking ceremony.

According to Equipmentworld.com, “topping off” also called “topping out” is a term used when the final structural beam is placed on a building. 

The last structural beam on the DLA Aviation Operations Center, which will be located in an elevator shaft, was painted white and signed by Day, along with David Gibson, DLA Installation Support at Richmond Site Director, as well leadership and construction crews from the Hensel Phelps and the USACE Norfolk District. 

“The topping off is not only a construction tradition, but is also an opportunity for DLA Aviation Command, DLA Installation Support at Richmond, USACE (Norfolk District) and the contractor to celebrate completion of the major structural steel frame for the new Operations Center,” said General Engineer Alex Vazquez with DLA Installation Support at Richmond’s Engineering Services. The completion of the steel beams and framing defines the shape and size of the new building. 

“It’s taken around 165,000 man hours to get to where we are today,” said Mark Zoubek, Hensel Phelps superintendent of the construction project, when he spoke to the construction crew in attendance at the event. “Next we will be doing the rough-in (drywall), utilities and skin of the building, and the plan is to mark another milestone in April. We will do this by maintaining safety and quality in all that we do every day.”

Day also echoed maintaining a culture of safety as the contractor goes into the next part of the construction project. “We want you to always go home safe to your families at the end of each day,” he said. 

“We are excited about the quality of work you are doing to build a new home for the DLA aviation workforce,” Day told construction crews. “This building is replacing buildings that were built in 1942, and are costly to maintain and sustain. Thousands of employees will appreciate all of the hard work and effort you put in to building their new work home. Even though you won’t be here to see it, they will appreciate it every day when they come to work and walk to their workspace.”

When complete, the DLA Aviation Operations Center Phase I will be a five-story structure that will replace Buildings 31 and 32 A-E Bays, which were built between 1941 and 1942. Phase I will also include a new Center Restaurant, and connect to the existing Frank B. Lotts Conference Center.

Two-hundred-fifty-two geothermal wells, measuring 500-feet deep each, were installed for the Operations Center earlier this year that will serve as an energy efficient, environmentally friendly heating and system that will lower energy costs - supporting the DLA goal of Financial Stewardship by delivering the right solutions that will reduce DLA’s operating and materials costs.

Vazquez said in addition to the completion of the frame and geothermal wells, installation of natural gas lines, telecommunications duct banks, and the East and West stair towers has also been completed to date. The project is going well and is on schedule, he said.

DLA Aviation’s Operations Center will be constructed in three phases. Phase I, a 252,000 square-foot glass and brick  building, will house around 875 employees, is expected to be completed  between  December 2017 and January 2018,  and will become home to  DLA Aviation’s Customer Operations, Procurement Process Support, Business Process Support, and Command Support Directorates, as well as DLA Training,  DLA Human Resources Services, DLA Information Operations at Richmond, DLA Distribution at Richmond, and the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1992.

Vazquez said the plans for Phases II and III have changed from the original plans. He noted Phases II and III are still in the early planning stages and must go through a round of approvals, to include final Congressional approval. 

“Phases II and III, now planned as a combined project, are currently in preliminary conceptual design,” said Vazquez. We are holding regular design meetings and the plans are to begin Phases II and III consecutively in 2019 with a projected completion in 2021.”

Phase II and III will be a 281,000 square-foot building that will be built adjacent to Phase I. The building will house employees from DLA Aviation’s Supplier Operations, Strategic Acquisitions Programs, Planning and Engineering Directorates, as well as DLA Counsel – Aviation. 

Vazquez said that the inclusion of a fitness center is no longer part of the plans for the new Aviation Operations Center. 

“Instead of building a new fitness center in the operations, we are saving costs to the tax payer by renovating Bays G and H of Building 32 for the new fitness center. Although plans have changed, employees will still get a new fitness center, but it will be located across from the Operations Center instead of within it,” Vazquez said. 

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