Fairchild Air Force Base is starting a $48 million project to replace a critical flight base operations facility as part of what's expected to be a broader modernization effort at the base west of Spokane. 

Jeffrey Johnson, deputy director for installation support at Fairchild Air Force Base, says that as planned, a two-story, 65,000-square-foot facility will be located on the same flight-line fronting site as the existing facility.

"This is the linchpin project for a lot of the moves on base," says Johnson. "It's something that we've all been trying to get for many, many years and something that's desperately needed."

The building will provide enough space to support a variety of functions considered vital for air crew and base operations, including offices, air flight crew equipment centers, conference rooms, classified areas, mission planning rooms, as well as some storage, says Johnson. 

"That's where all of the aircraft—the ones that we're going to launch out and then the ones that we're going to bring in—that's where they start and finish their day," he says.

The planned building improvements are important for future operations at Fairchild Air Force Base, which is home to the 92nd and 141st Air Refueling Wings. The base is the largest employer in Spokane County, with over 7,400 full-time civilian and military employees, according to the Journal's 2024 Spokane County's Largest Employers list.

Aleesha Roedel, Greater Spokane Incorporated's military affairs specialist, says the regional chamber and economic-development organization supports the airbase as a crucial aspect of the Spokane-area economy.

"There's also a lot of small businesses that contract with the base," she adds. "It's basically the bread and butter for the livelihood of their small businesses. Our airmen also support our local economy. Without the base, Spokane and the area would probably be devastated."

With the operations facility project, the Seattle district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing the construction. Spokane-based Garco Construction Inc. is the general contractor. Bernardo Wills, also of Spokane, is designing the facility, and Coffman Engineers Inc., which has an office in Spokane, is providing engineering services.

The existing flight base operations building is scheduled for demolition beginning mid-June and is expected to be torn down completely in August. 

Phuc Pham, project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, says construction of the new operations building is expected to begin in late August or September, after the demolition of the former facility is complete. 

"I'm sure that the Army Corps and the contractor will do what they can to get a lot of the footing and things like that down before it gets really cold, and then we'll see how that affects the schedule," explains Johnson.

The new building, which is expected to be operational in late 2026, will serve as a central hub for 17 organizations operating on the airbase, including the entire Operations Support Squadron, which currently operates in six different locations on the base. Additionally, the building will support airfield management, the operations group commander, a small intelligence contingent, and a unit to monitor weather conditions.

"All of those people will be moving into this facility," Johnson says. 

The existing base operations building, built in 1953, is a deteriorating former air traffic control tower and radar approach facility, that was modified in the 1980s and left a functionally-restricted facility.

"It had reached the end of its useful life about 15 years ago, but we just kept putting Band-Aids on it to keep us going," says Johnson of the aging structure. 

The current building offers cramped mission planning rooms that aren't large enough to accommodate more than two crews, despite five to eight crews flying daily. The basement has been uninhabitable since 2004, due to constant flooding and asbestos hazards, which has affected communications equipment. Additionally, the exterior facade is detaching from the underlying structure. 

Despite the building's challenges, funding for the project has taken years to get approved. Johnson says he's been advocating for a new flight base operations facility since he was serving on active duty at Fairchild Air Force Base as the Operations Group commander, a post he left in 2006, he explains. 

"I've been here since 2007 as a civilian, so obviously I have had a passion to make sure that this facility gets properly built and used and we put the right people in the right places in that facility," says Johnson. "It's gone through many iterations through the Air Force process to try to get funded. Then finally, five years ago, we figured out what we needed it to do."

Just as a new plan was adopted for the building replacement project, Johnson says the onset of the pandemic halted the development, which caused delays that in turn increased expenses again.

Johnson gives credit to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, for her help to get the funding get secured.

"We ended up with the facility being put on contract last fall," says Johnson.

The project is part of an effort to replace and modernize many older buildings on the base that were originally built in the 1940s and 1950s. Some older supply buildings and six aircraft hangars have been previously demolished. Other structures have already collapsed, and additional buildings still need to be replaced, he says.

Some future modernization efforts at Fairchild Air Force Base will address consolidated finance and communications activities and an older customer service building.

"This linchpin facility allows us to get on with other things that we need to do on base," says Johnson.