WARREN – The U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command is a major beneficiary of the 2005 Congressional Military Base Realignment and Closure directives, as the facility will welcome 1,251 new positions next year.

Granger Construction Co., its subcontractors and the building trades are also major beneficiaries: they’re erecting an eight-story, 583,750-square foot administration building along Van Dyke north of I-696 to accommodate the new staff. The project will also include a new 1,800-spot parking structure and renovation and new construction associated with the Weapons Maintenance and Operations Building.

Ground was broken on the project last May, and it’s expected to be complete in about a year. The total contract cost is $69.2 million.

The “Detroit Arsenal” administers planning and technology for armored vehicles and an armaments production center, and is the headquarters for the Army’s TACOM (Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command). A production facility on the grounds of the arsenal first built tanks during World War II and then all the way through the Gulf War, before it was shuttered in 1996.

We attempted to feature the administration building project by requesting permission to go inside with a camera and take photos of tradespeople, but a Granger representative said nothing doing – the owner isn’t allowing photos.

A NEW ADMINISTRATIVE building that’s under construction will accommodate new staff that will be relocating to the Army TACOM Command Center in Warren.