EL PASO, TEXAS — Next week will mark the groundbreaking for Freedom Crossing at Fort Bliss, the first shopping center to be built on a U.S. military base. The $100 million, fully funded project will consist of 546,915 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space catering to the military population of El Paso’s Fort Bliss. It is being developed as a joint venture between the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the military division responsible for providing goods and services to members of the military, and Greenwood, Colo.-based private developer ServiceStar Development Co.
As a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission’s (BRAC) report, Fort Bliss is expected to see five new brigades and their families move to the base by 2012, amounting to a 60 percent population increase. Approximately $4.8 billion in new construction is currently under way at the base to support this projected growth, and officials knew that expanded retail offerings would be necessary. The only question was what to build.
“Should we just build what we always build, or is this the opportunity to do something different and do something special? That’s what made us decide to do this open-air center with a main street, and invite in those third-party retailers,” says Joe Giuffreda, vice president, strategic planning and partnerships directorate, with AAFES.
Freedom Crossing at Fort Bliss will be anchored by the base’s existing Post Exchange and Commissary stores, which provide retail items and groceries, respectively, for soldiers, their families and retired service members. Both buildings are set to see significant upgrades. The existing Post Exchange will triple in size to 217,000 square feet, and a new Commissary building totaling 111,000 square feet will be constructed. Both retailers are a huge area draw, since military personnel and their families can purchase goods at cost from the Commissary and sales tax-free at the Post Exchange. These anchors will be supplemented by 145,915 square feet of main street-style retail space, which will be populated by third-party retailers.
“The opportunity for retailers in this economic environment to be able to get an adjacency to such in-demand tenants as these two anchors…is pretty extraordinary,” says Mark DeRose, CEO of ServiceStar Development Co.
Giufredda adds that Fort Bliss and the El Paso area is still a strong economic trade area and is set to grow even more. “There is no recession in the military,” Giufredda adds.
“The army is not laying off soldiers.”
In addition to the anchor and retail space, Freedom Crossing will contain 40,000 square feet of food and beverage space, which will house up to 20 privately operated restaurants. Entertainment will be provided by a new 33,000-square-foot, privately operated movie theater that will feature multiple screens and first-run movies, also a first of its kind. The project is applying for LEED-Silver certification, with sustainable features that include recycled construction materials, extensive use of daylighting and low water usage.
Completion of the project is expected in October 2010, with some of the restaurants possibly opening earlier that spring. The Post Exchange will remain open while its expansion is under way. The AAFES sees Freedom Crossing as a pilot project for future on-base retail centers. Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio and Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Wash., are also set to see large population increases as a result of BRAC, and both bases have plans under way for new retail projects. If Freedom Crossing proves to be a success, it could be a model for future retail projects at military bases.
— Coleman Wood