Naval Base Guam Breaks Ground on New, Energy-Efficient Facility

By Shaina Marie Santos, Joint Region Marianas Public Affairs

SANTA RITA, GUAM (NNS) -- The Navy held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new, energy-efficient Navy Exchange (NEX) Guam Mini-mart and Gas Station on board U.S. Naval Base Guam (NBG) Dec. 19.

Capt. Mike Ward, NBG commanding officer, said the groundbreaking of the facility is a component in moving the base forward and making it a premier installation in the Navy enterprise.

Overall, the building will provide a one-stop station made more convenient for base patrons.

"It symbolizes the Navy's commitment not only here on Naval Base Guam, but across the board, the impact (on) our families' and service members' quality of life on our Navy bases, and I'm very proud of that," he said.

As part of the secretary of the Navy's energy goals to ensure energy-efficient acquisitions, the facility, after completion, will obtain the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification.

"LEED certification is the Navy's way of ensuring that we are building to the maximum opportunity for energy savings," said NEX Guam District Facilities Manager Bill Ward. "We have such a high dependency on oil and our usage here on Guam. So anything we can do to cut back on energy savings is a plus."

Thad Gabryszewski, design project manager for the project's engineer firm, AMEC, shared Bill Ward's sentiments and explained ways the building will save energy.

"We have a well-insulated building with high-efficiency windows, sunshade eyebrows over the windows which block the sunlight in, water-saving fixtures, reflecting colored roof membrane, and we anticipate energy savings of at least 30 percent better than the actuary's baseline for facilities," he said.

The $7.4 million, 11,000-square-foot facility will replace the existing mini-mart and fast-food franchise in Barracks 20, and the existing gas station and Autoport on NBG.

"It allows us to consolidate Barracks 20 and take some of the departments out of the main (NEX) store," said NEX Guam District Vice President Phil Harrison. "The current (gas station) does over $14 million annually, Barracks 20 does $2.5 million annually, so I figure that the potential for this site is going to be over $20 million annually when we complete it."

According to Harrison, NEX gives $1 million to Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs aimed to provide adequate programs, activities and facilities to service members and their dependents.

The project was awarded by Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Marianas to P&S Construction July 12, 2010, and is designed to provide a new adequately sized and configured concrete mini-mart and gas station. It is expected to be completed in December 2013.