$100 million appropriated for new SOUTHCOM headquarters

MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES

01.31.2008

Courtesy Story

U.S. Southern Command

MIAMI - The 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, signed Jan. 28 by President George W. Bush, authorizes the construction of a new consolidated headquarters in Doral, Fla., for U.S. Southern Command, paving the way for an initial $100 million to fund pre-construction actions and initial construction costs.

The initial funding will cover construction activities though Sept. 30, 2008, and represents 42 percent of the $237 million authorized for the construction of a new 630,000 square-foot, headquarters on 55 acres of Florida-owned land immediately adjacent to the command's current headquarters.

Enhancements incorporated into the new headquarters' design will include better support for the command's joint, coalition and interagency operations; the consolidation of nine leased facilities into a single, state-of-art compound and improved force protection capabilities.

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has submitted a request for proposal to qualified contractors, and we expect to have the proposals from the contractors submitted for evaluation in February," said U.S. Army Col. Norberto Cintron, command engineer at U.S. Southern Command. "We are excited to continue to be part of this great community and expect our new headquarters facility to be ready for occupancy in 2011."

U.S. Southern Command is one of the nation's five geographically-focused unified commands with responsibility for U.S. military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

• Date Taken: 01.31.2008
• Date Posted: 01.31.2008 13:23
• Story ID: 15940
• Location: MIAMI, FL, US