The U.S. Army in Colorado is seeing green in more ways than one.
Fort Carson has broken ground on the most environmentally friendly military buildings to be constructed in the state so far.
The project is the first to achieve a gold-level rank under guidelines set by the Army’s Sustainable Project Rating Tool. Also known as Spirit, the tool is an adaptation of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system widely used by the building industry.
The $14.2 million project consists of barracks for 112 Army medical personnel and a headquarters for their company’s operations.
Energy efficiency stemming from the two buildings’ green construction is expected to save the Army – and taxpayers – money over several years, said William Davis, a master planner at Fort Carson.
“Environmentally friendly construction is the way things are going now,” Davis said. “Not only will it provide savings from reduced utility consumption, it will also improve living conditions for soldiers.”
The brick barracks with large windows and walk-in closets are downright swanky compared with the digs Fort Carson medical workers now call home. Those were built in 1956 and have the dubious distinction of being Fort Carson’s first permanent barracks. Instead of kitchens and closets, residents now have only microwaves and lockers.
Builders will use recycled materials for about 25 percent of the new construction, and more than half of the materials left over will be recycled.
To shave energy costs, the buildings will have plenty of natural lighting and outside shading. They’ll also have double-insulated walls and sensors that detect dangerous carbon monoxide levels and control water temperatures.
Swinerton Builders in Arvada is the project’s general contractor.
While he’s pleased with the Army’s embrace of environmentally sound construction, medical company Pvt. Matthew Yates said he’s particularly happy that the new barracks will give him and his colleagues more privacy. When the barracks open next year, residents will get small stoves in their rooms and bathrooms built for two instead of the current “gang latrines” that have showers and toilets for 10.
“I am ecstatic,” said Yates, an Ohio native who has been stationed at Fort Carson since December.
Construction of other gold-rated barracks at Fort Carson is expected to begin next year, Davis said.
Staff writer Christine Tatum contributed to this report.
