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Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the Kaiserslautern Military Community
Center won’t be, either. But the same can’t be said for the twin
escalators that connect the first two floors of the sprawling future
facility on Ramstein.
“The escalators were installed in one day,” said Bob Burns, senior
project engineer for Jacobs Engineering and provider of oversight for
U.S. Air Forces in Europe. “I asked the guy in the morning, ‘How long
will you be?’ and he said, ‘We’ll be out of here tonight.’ It was
pretty amazing.”
The escalators aren’t the only things going up quickly inside the KMCC.
Vast parts of the interior are beginning to take shape. A future
“Kiddie Corner” sits just off the Food Court, and glass-enclosed
storefronts in the vendor shops area are marked with preliminary signs.
The gently curving hallways, in fact, look like they’re not far away
from being ready for business.
“The next big activity in here (in the vendor shops area) is the
natural flooring,” said Chris Globert, senior project engineer for
Jacobs Engineering.
In the same area, Mr. Globert also pointed out acoustic boarding, which
consists of a thin layer of waffleboard gypsum and a very fine layer of
cloth. The boarding is being installed across the KMCC in order
to dampen ambient noise, and provide a nicer sonic experience.
As granite tiles begin to cover hallways and the commercial areas take
shape, the amount of increased options available to future shoppers
becomes apparent. Four movie theaters will be able to hold up to 500
people. A cyber cafe and dedicated bookstore will be located separately
from the Base Exchange. The pizza oven at the Macaroni Grill has been
installed, and rough archways define the restaurant’s interior.
Progress is being made, said Mr. Burns, pointing out a two-man team
installing an elevator beneath the shadow of a huge climbing wall in
the Outdoor Recreation area. The elevator leads to the sports lounge
area, where a tile-covered kitchen is shiny and new. Unlike an
escalator, it takes more than a day to install an elevator, according
to Mr. Burns. Still, things are looking up at the KMCC.
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