The Fort McCoy East Barracks Project has reached 99 percent completion, marking another major milestone in the installation’s continuing effort to modernize its infrastructure and strengthen its ability to support Soldiers training at the installation.
According to the latest project update provided Aug. 21 by Nathan Butts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, contractor punch-list work is nearing completion, with 94 percent of the punch-list items verified as of Aug. 21. The project also has completed its required seven-day endurance test, and no new requests for information remain. Only one closeout submittal was listed as being under review.
The project is now moving through the final stages of commissioning, inspections, and closeout. The pre-final inspection correction inspection was completed Aug. 21. Building commissioning is scheduled for completion Aug. 25, followed by final HVAC training and final furniture corrections Aug. 26. The final inspection and beneficial occupancy determination is scheduled for Sept. 2.
Photographs included with the Aug. 21 update show a facility that is substantially complete, with finished sleeping areas, hallways, stairways, elevators, laundry facilities, restrooms and shower areas. Exterior photographs show completed sidewalks, parking areas, landscaping, building entrances and mechanical systems surrounding the new barracks.
A $27.3 million investment in Fort McCoy’s future
The East Barracks Project was awarded in February 2024 to L.S. Black Constructors LLC for $27,287,735. Site preparation began in May 2024, followed by major construction activities later that summer.
The project is the fourth transient-training troops barracks constructed as part of Fort McCoy's ongoing development of its 1600 block. The more than 60,000-square-foot facility will be capable of housing up to 400 people, providing modern accommodations for enlisted service members undergoing training at Fort McCoy.
L.S. Black Constructors is familiar with Fort McCoy’s barracks construction program. The company previously built the first two 60,000-square-foot transient-training barracks on the installation and also constructed the brigade headquarters building located in the same area. The East Barracks Project therefore represents another phase of a larger construction effort that has been underway for several years in the 1600 block.
Part of a larger Fort McCoy transformation
Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works planning officials have described the 1600 block development as part of the installation’s long-term master plan to continuously upgrade infrastructure and prepare Fort McCoy for the future.
Earlier DPW planning information described the overall transformation as including four transient-training barracks, three brigade headquarters buildings and officer-quarters development. The goal is to create a modern training-support area while placing transient Soldiers near important installation services and facilities.
The East Barracks is an important piece of that transformation because modern barracks directly support Fort McCoy’s primary mission as a Total Force training center. Providing adequate, modern lodging allows the installation to accommodate large numbers of Soldiers and units while they conduct individual and collective training.
The project also follows the completion of other major barracks investments at Fort McCoy, including the previously completed $20.6 million and $18.8 million barracks projects, as well as the $28.08 million South Barracks Project. The broader modernization effort also includes the $55.75 million Collective Training Officers Quarters Project currently under construction elsewhere on the installation.
Fort McCoy DPW planning officials have previously emphasized that these projects are not isolated construction efforts. They are part of an overall strategy to replace aging facilities, improve quality of life, and ensure the installation has the infrastructure needed to support current and future military training requirements.
Construction also contributes to regional economic impact
The East Barracks Project also demonstrates how Fort McCoy's infrastructure investments contribute beyond the installation's boundaries.
Fort McCoy's Plans, Analysis and Integration Office has historically included military construction as a significant component of the installation's annual economic impact. Since fiscal year 2019, more than $310 million has been calculated in new construction of buildings and ranges at Fort McCoy alone, according to previous Fort McCoy economic-impact reporting. In fiscal year 2024, Fort McCoy's estimated total economic impact was $1.6 billion, while approximately $92.6 million was attributed to new construction of buildings and ranges during that fiscal year.
The East Barracks Project, along with other major construction projects, was identified as part of the ongoing infrastructure investment contributing to that economic activity. Construction projects such as the East Barracks generate economic activity through construction contracts, materials, services, wages and other expenditures associated with building and maintaining the installation’s infrastructure. Previous Fort McCoy reporting has noted that these investments help support communities and businesses throughout the region.
Strengthening readiness for years to come
As the East Barracks Project enters its final days of construction, the significance of the project extends well beyond reaching a 99 percent completion figure.
The new facility provides Fort McCoy with additional modern lodging capacity at a time when the installation continues to support large-scale training for the Army Reserve, Army National Guard, active-duty forces and other military organizations.
Previous Fort McCoy leadership has described the transient-training barracks complex as a direct result of continued support for the installation and an enhancement to the Army’s ability — particularly the Army Reserve's ability — to train at Fort McCoy.
The East Barracks Project is another visible example of that continued investment. With the project now at 99 percent completion, the major construction phase is essentially finished. The remaining work centers on commissioning, final corrections, inspections and closeout — the final steps before the facility can transition from a construction project into a modern training-support asset for Soldiers.
For Fort McCoy, the nearly completed East Barracks likely represents another step in a much larger modernization effort: building the infrastructure today that will allow the installation to train, support and sustain America's military forces well into the future.
Fort McCoy’s motto beginning in 2026 is “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.” The installation’s mission: “Fort McCoy strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”
And Fort McCoy’s vision is, “To be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online athttps://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.
Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”