Government

Fort Carson Exchange

The Jenkins Group was the architect for the design-build expansion and renovation of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) shopping center at Fort Carson, Colorado. About 86,000 square feet of additions bring the complete exchange to roughly 190,000 square feet. The additions enlarge the sales floor and extend the mall, and they provide new administration and bank areas, a new merchandise processing area, and new entries. Inside the existing building, the mall received a new layout, and the main store and food court received new finishes. The completed exchange includes a main sales floor of more than 100,000 square feet, 14 mall vendors and a food court with five vendors, and it presents one updated building identity to the Fort Carson community.

AAFES awarded the project through a design-build competition among several national teams. The winning team was led by Carothers Construction, with The Jenkins Group as project manager and architect and designer of record, Civiltech Engineering for civil and landscape design, Holben Martin & White for structural design, and McCoy & Howard Engineers for mechanical, electrical and plumbing design. The design joins old and new behind one unified façade that meets Fort Carson's architectural standards, using anodized aluminum storefront and curtain wall, masonry and composite metal wall panels. The exchange was designed to be LEED Silver certifiable, with stormwater bioswales, native planting that needs no irrigation, low-flow plumbing fixtures and a white, highly insulated roof. Construction took 20 months and finished in 2011, with completed areas turned over in phases.

Making an addition look as if it was always there is most of the work.