Officials plan to sell armory

April 04, 2009|By JENNIFER FITCH

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Construction began in February for a $5.5 million Pennsylvania National Guard armory in South Mountain, Pa., which will eventually replace the armories in Waynesboro and Gettysburg, Pa.

Officials expect to open the South Mountain armory in a year, then empty and clean the Waynesboro facility prior to an appraisal for that property.

"We seek fair-market value," said Kevin Cramsey, a spokesman for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Waynesboro and Washington Township leaders have said they'd like to acquire the Pa. 316 property for their police departments.

"A lot of times local communities are interested in these buildings," Cramsey said, adding that they've recently been renamed "readiness centers."

Lobar Construction workers from Dillsburg, Pa., have completed about 70 percent of ongoing renovations at the Chambersburg, Pa., readiness center on U.S. 30, Cramsey said. That construction project totals approximately $5 million and adds 5,000 square feet to the 15,000-square-foot building, he said.

All the readiness centers in Franklin County, Pa., serve the Pennsylvania National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which has a total of about 4,000 members. One hundred are stationed in Chambersburg, and about 115 are in Waynesboro and Gettysburg.

The 56th Stryker Brigade, which specializes in operations that use armored vehicles, deployed to Iraq early this year and is expected home in the fall, Cramsey said.

The soldiers returning to Chambersburg will find a better mess hall and new lockers at their armory. They'll also have more parking for personal and military vehicles.

"Parking has been an issue there," Cramsey said.

The South Mountain facility, being built by R.S. Mowery & Sons of Mechanicsburg, Pa., will be 28,000 square feet situated on 15 acres at the South Mountain Restoration Center. Cramsey promised that soldiers will find the new readiness center has more parking and modern features.

"The soldiers will be coming from the Gettysburg and Waynesboro armories, both of which are undersized," he said.

Crews in South Mountain laid the foundation pad and started erecting the main beams.

Cramsey said the sale of the 16,000-square-foot Waynesboro armory, which was built in 1936, will actually require legislative action. Often, municipalities work with their local legislators to secure a site.

The money from the sale goes into a fund used to maintain other armories, he said.

|

|

|