By Dino W. Buchanan, Honolulu District Public Affairs
Honolulu District officials and Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment "Wolfhounds" gathered in the center of historic Quad D at Schofield Barracks Jan. 23 for a ribbon cutting ceremony, which officially reopened two barracks renovated by the Corps of Engineers.
Wolfhounds Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Kevin Williams hosted the ceremony attended by more than 250 Wolfhounds Soldiers, family members, guests and the regiment’s Russian wolfhound mascot Kolchak XVI.
Attending the ceremony representing Honolulu District were District Deputy Commander Maj. Brennan Wallace, Project Manager Cora Shimabukuro as well as representatives from the project contractor Nan, Inc. All were presented Hawaiian leis at the start of the ceremony in recognition of the Corps’ and contractor’s efforts in completing the Quad D barracks.
During the ceremony Lt. Col. Williams praised the District engineers and contractor for the renovation of Quad D’s barracks in buildings 450 and 451 and for the Corps of Engineers’ unwavering support to the U.S. Army and the Wolfhounds.
Nan Inc. was awarded the $43.7 million design-build project in Sept. 2011 to renovate the buildings to meet current Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing 1+1 living standards. Each of the barracks now have Soldiers living in two-man suites that feature a shared kitchenette with a cook-top range & oven, microwave, a refrigerator and dining area, a shared bath, central air conditioning, cable TV, and internet service.
Historic Quad D was constructed in 1920 and 1921 with three barracks buildings and one administration building, with an open-bay barracks design and had gang latrines. Today Quad D is part of the Schofield Barracks Historic District. As such, the renovations provides a highly-energy efficient and upgraded barracks to 2-27 Soldiers with modern, state-of-the-art accommodations, while also maintaining the facility’s historical aspects (maintaining the original exterior appearance).
The Corps is continuing work on the remaining two Quad D buildings (449 and 452) as it continues to support U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii through Operations and Maintenance, Army (OMA)-funded design for the renovation to meet current building codes and accommodate future use as a Company Operations Facility and Battalion Operations Facility (COF and BOF).
Nan, Inc. previously completed work on Quad C and is also currently working on $70 million renovations to upgrade three of four Quad B buildings to 1+1 UEPH configurations.
The Honolulu District is committed to building and managing the construction of high quality projects that improve the quality of life for service members and their families and that provide jobs and money which stimulate the local economy.