BELLEVUE — At long last, the Nebraska National Guard’s newest and biggest armory is under construction.
Senior Guard and political leaders turned ceremonial shovels of dirt Tuesday afternoon for the Bellevue Readiness Center, the future home of five Guard units and about 380 soldiers and airmen.
U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, who worked with U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer to secure federal funds for the project, called the groundbreaking an “important milestone.†It is expected to open in 2024.
“Once it’s built, it’ll make a difference in the lives of thousands and thousands of National Guard members, for decades and decades to come,†he said.
The new center is west of Offutt Air Force Base, adjacent to the Willow Lakes Golf Course. The 40-acre site is owned by the Air Force, with a sweeping view across the Papillion Creek watershed.
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“It’s literally a beacon on a hill,†said Maj. Gen. Daryl Bohac, Nebraska’s adjutant general.
The project has been planned since 2008. Originally it was to be built in Mead, but when Bohac took over the state’s top military post in 2013, he gave orders to move it to Bellevue.
“We need to be building readiness centers in the communities, not in the cornfields,†Bohac said Tuesday.
With their slots on the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, Fischer and Bacon got $29 million for the project in fiscal year 2020.
But all the bids came in far above the budgeted price, said Col. Brent Flachsbart, the Nebraska National Guard’s construction facilities and management officer.
They tried again the following year, with the same result. He blamed the higher costs on supply chain issues fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Unfortunately, our timing couldn’t have been worse,†Flachsbart said. “We had to reduce the size and the scope.â€
Guard officials went back to the drawing board. They eliminated a second floor, cutting the square footage by 20% to 103,000 square feet. And with support from Gov. Pete Ricketts, the Nebraska Legislature approved an additional $7.6 million.
The $36.3 million price tag is just a shade less than the inflation-adjusted cost ($37.4 million) of the Nebraska National Guard headquarters in Lincoln, which opened in 2012.
The readiness center will include office space, a drill floor, a large kitchen, maintenance bays for National Guard vehicles and classrooms. Its exterior look will be modern and comparable to the U.S. Strategic Command headquarters about 1 mile to the southeast, opened in 2019.
“I know this is going to be a world-class facility,†Ricketts said.
The Bellevue Readiness Center will replace an armory that closed in Fremont.
The center will be the headquarters for five units:
* 72nd Civil Support Team, currently based in Lincoln.
* 189th Truck Company, Omaha.
* Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment, Lincoln.
* 623rd Engineer Company, Wahoo.
* 192nd Military Police Company detachment, North Omaha.
Fischer said the facility will boost a growing partnership between the Nebraska Guard and the Air Force at Offutt. Just last month, Guard officials announced that Nebraska Air National Guard’s 170th Group, which supports the 55th Wing at Offutt, to provide new services.
“We’re seeing dirt moved, and we hope to see a ribbon-cutting in 24 months,†Fischer said. “I’m so excited to see progress being made.â€