Fairchild Air Force Base plans to begin a $6 million remodel and addition at its base exchange this summer, says Lt. Casey Osborne, a spokesman for the base.

A 3,000-square-foot addition to the base exchange, at 107 W. Spaatz Road, south of U.S. 2 in the north part of the base, will bring the total floor space in the complex to 41,000 square feet, Osborne says. A base exchange is a retail center that sells consumer goods to active duty, reserve, National Guard, and retired U.S. service members and their dependents.

Renovations to Fairchild's main base-exchange structure, commonly called the BX, will include a new ceiling, flooring, and energy-saving lighting fixtures, all of which will bring the facility up to Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) standards, Osborne says. AAFES operates base exchanges at Air Force and Army installations.

Also as part of the project, a firearms counter and vault will be added to the BX sales floor, which will be extended into the stockroom area, Osborne says.

The project currently is out for bid, and a contractor hasn't been selected to handle the work yet, he says. AAFES is funding the project, which will begin this summer and take about nine months to complete, he says.

"Funds to build these new or replacement facilities come entirely from the sale of merchandise and services," he says.

AAFES earnings also are used to pay for quality-of-life improvements at military installations, such as youth services, recreation and aquatic centers, and golf courses, he says.

Separately, the base plans to launch projects totaling another $54 million this year.

Those projects include a $28 million replacement fitness center, an $11 million support complex for the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) program, and $7.4 million in base dormitory renovations. They also include $3.6 million in upgrades to the base officers' club and construction of a $4.1 million maintenance facility for refueling vehicles.