From Deseret News archives:
Utah Guard to build $13 million S.L. armory
New building to serve 320 soldiers and airmen
The so-called Joint Armed Forces Readiness Center, to be located at about 1624 N. 2200 West, will house the 22 members of the 85th Civil Support Team, currently operating out of an armory in Lehi. The new building will serve about 320 soldiers and airmen, including engineering and military intelligence companies that will share space with the 85th.
"We haven't had an armory between Salt Lake (City) and Ogden for a long time," said Col. Scot Olson, Utah Guard facilities director.
Olson predicts the new center will "absolutely" help with recruiting efforts in and around the North Salt Lake area.
"We see this providing military opportunities for residents in that area who are interested in joining the military," Olson said.
Efforts to fund the project have gone through a slow process of "vetting" and congressional approval, Olson added. Planning for the armory, he said, actually began about seven years ago.
Construction on the armory, to be built next to the Utah Air National Guard facility, is expected to begin in 2008 and should take 18 months to complete. The new center will be used to store equipment and vehicles along with providing classroom and office space for the Guard.
A map, found at the Web site www.ut.ngb.army.mil/environmental, shows the armory being built next to, but apparently not over, existing wetlands. A full environmental assessment is available for public review until Nov. 13, the end of a 30-day comment period, by contacting the Utah Army National Guard or visiting the Salt Lake City Main Library, 210 E. 400 South.
Lehi's brick armory, built during the 1950s, will continue to be open for community use and will eventually host another Guard unit, Olson said.
Other Utah Guard projects between now and 2011 include two new buildings worth about $19 million that will be built as part of the Guard's "regional training institute" at Camp Williams, south of Bluffdale.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com
