Civilian and military leaders broke ground Monday at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for a new child development center, one of two child-focused centers planned for the base in coming years.

With a working population of at least 38,000 people at Wright-Patterson, the need for the center has been undeniable, leaders said.

“There’s nothing you can do better than to support the airmen and their families,” said Col. Travis Pond, deputy commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, the host unit at Wright-Patterson. “And that’s what’s on display here today — two brand new CDCs (child development centers), courtesy of Congressman (Mike) Turner and his constituents.”

“We continue to expand and grow here at Wright-Patt,” Pond added. “The latest numbers are upwards of 38,000 people who live and work and continue to execute the nation’s mission from here. This is key and critically important that we continue to add capabilities to support the mission.”

“These are our families, too,” said U.S. Rep. Turner, R- Dayton. “They’re the families of the community. By providing facilities like this, we’re going to make a difference to their quality of life.”

In what he said was an unscripted moment, Turner singled out for praise his staff national security advisor, Zachary Taylor, who spotted the Air Force’s own highlighting of the need for a new Wright-Patterson child care center — a need that had remained unfunded.

Taylor approached Turner on the subject, and the congressman and his allies approached base leaders and the Dayton Development Coalition, as well as congressional appropriations decision-makers and others.

“Every now and then, there’s a project that actually comes down to one person,” Turner said, referring to Taylor.

More than one person who attended the groundbreaking approached Taylor after the public speeches to thank him and shake his hand.

“I didn’t give him any warning that I was going to do that,” Turner said.

The need for the new centers has been acknowledged for some time.

In 2021, federal military construction documents described one of the base’s current centers — a 62-year-old former school building outside the base perimeter, in Riverside — as having “insect and vermin infestation” and a gas leak that caused children to be evacuated at one point. No children were in any health or safety risk at that center and inspections were conducted regularly, Wright-Patterson representatives said in 2021.

By the next year, the Air Force had identified a second child development facility at Wright-Patterson as an unfunded priority in that year’s military budget process.

In all, more than $50 million will be spent on the two care centers.

Last September, Butt Construction Co. Inc. was awarded a $31,356,900 contract for design-build construction of the building for which ground was broken Monday.

The building will cover about 43,000 square feet, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said last year.

Some of the amenities will include a childcare facility for children up to five years of age, with a playground and a traditional daycare facility, Delano said.

Bids for the center were solicited via the Internet with 10 received, the Department of Defense said. The department expects a completion date of Dec. 19, 2025.

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