A new Armed Forces Reserve Center located near the Plainview Gate of the Pine Bluff Arsenal will be officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony in the center’s assembly area Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Rachel Newton, public affairs specialist with the Pine Bluff Arsenal, said that the center will consolidate the activities of the Army Reserve, the Arkansas National Guard and the Army in the Pine Bluff region.
“The Stone Army Reserve Center near UAPB was closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2005,” Newton said. “The new center will house those personnel in addition to serving as a readiness center for the Arkansas National Guard.”
An arsenal statement said the center will house four Army Reserve units.
“Funding for the center came out of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act,” Newton said. “It has a total of 50,917 square feet for the training of approximately 200 soldiers. The center has administrative, educational and library facilities, in addition to a vault, a weapons simulator, barracks and fitness areas.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Newton said that construction on the center began in the summer of 2010 and was mostly complete as of June 2011. The total project cost came to $12.5 million.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville, Kentucky District managed the construction, with oversight provided by the Corps Little Rock District,” Newton said. “Our office was provided with information stating that 17 out of 18 contractors on the project were from Arkansas.”
The center is located outside the arsenal, near Plainview Gate and the Creasy Complex, on Dayton Road, which runs parallel to the Creasy Complex. The center is adjacent to several soccer fields.