Trendsetters
One of the mainstays of any U.S. military installation is the post-exchange, or PX. A new one at Fort Bliss will have a unique look.
“Our new post-exchange is different in that it’s an outdoor mall, what you’d normally see in an off-installation type of facility,” says Clark McChesney, director of the Fort Bliss Base Transformation Office.
The facility will be the first of its kind on a U.S. military base and may serve as a model for future installations, McChesney says.
Expansion is Bliss
El Paso readies for a troop surge at Fort Bliss.
El Paso, Texas, and Fort Bliss are preparing for an invasion. More than 20,000 additional soldiers – and the number could climb beyond 35,000 – are scheduled to move to the base by 2013, bringing jobs and more than $21 billion in economic impact to the local economy.
“The expansion is going to triple the size of the installation as well as the number of soldiers,” says John Cook, El Paso’s mayor.
The troops will come as the base changes roles into a heavy-armor training post. Their arrival will create jobs across the region. About 2,000 civilian jobs have already been created in the service industry, including restaurants, mechanics and janitorial services. And with billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements planned at Fort Bliss itself, local subcontractors have plenty of work to do as well.
More than $4 billion in construction is taking place, says Clark McChesney, director of the base transformation office. This includes housing, a new post exchange, childcare facilities and new gyms along with military facilities such as ranges for small and large weapons.
Along with the soldiers will come support personnel and families, adding about 65,000 more people, or nearly 10 percent, to the El Paso population.
Going to Work
The number of employed people in El Paso was already expected to grow through 2013. The Fort Bliss transformation, meanwhile, could add more than 40,000 additional jobs in the same time frame.
| Year | Employment projections | Projections after BRAC decision |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 343,256 | 353,678 |
| 2007 | 347,502 | 364,469 |
| 2008 | 351,977 | 375,716 |
| 2009 | 356,667 | 382,431 |
| 2010 | 361,555 | 398,108 |
| 2011 | 366,628 | 403,898 |
| 2012 | 371,885 | 410,944 |
| 2013 | 377,321 | 417,512 |
Source: The Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce
Hustle and Bustle
Fort Bliss’ reformation into a heavy-armor training post followed a May 2005 decision by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Reacting to that, the local community has worked together to prepare for the arrival of so many people, says Richard Dayoub, president and CEO of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.
“There was a collective effort to identify the areas where we needed work and then to find solutions to those challenges,” says Dayoub.
Health care, education, transportation and work force development are just a few of those areas. Dayoub says education for their children is foremost on arriving soldiers’ minds.
Addressing this concern, El Pasoans passed more than $875 million in bond initiatives for building new schools and refurbishing existing ones. Another $300 million to $500 million is anticipated, Dayoub says.
“We’re forecasting a big demand in the teaching profession,” Mayor Cook says. “Fortunately, the Pentagon is giving us demographic data on the ages of kids who are coming, so we can anticipate the types of teachers we’ll need.”
Elsewhere, one of the largest public/private highway partnership in Texas Department of Transportation history is under way to let base families commute without congesting existing roadways. Texas Tech University, in partnership with business and civic leaders and the Texas Legislature, recently expanded a two-year medical school program into a four-year program, the first in Texas in 30 years. This will help produce doctors and nurses, another area of critical need.
Where do you put all of these new residents? In houses, of course. And in the city listed as the 17th most undervalued U.S. housing market – median home price has risen from $125,000 to about $132,000 since 2004 – there’s plenty of housing construction.
“Typically, the military will only build 40 percent of the houses needed, so 60 percent have to come from the private sector,” says Cook. “In the last year, we’ve approved as many subdivision plats as in the previous three years combined. That’s really encouraging for us.” FN
The Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce has an online guide to the Fort Bliss expansion at www.elpaso.org/team_bliss.html.