Contractors erect an expeditionary dining facility to feed an influx of new troops on Barton Barracks in Ansbach, Germany, on March 4, 2022. (Dani Johnson/U.S. Army)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — The U.S. Army will spend approximately $250 million on a suite of improvements at the Ansbach garrison’s Barton Barracks, which was once on the chopping block but now is seen as primed for expansion.
The plan calls for renovation of existing structures and construction of new ones to ease the transition of soldiers who arrived last year, Ansbach commander Col. Aaron Dixon said in late February at an annual event.
The 500 troops are from the 7th Engineer Brigade and 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. Barton Barracks is one of eight installations that make up the garrison, which has grown in importance since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Barton had been scheduled to close under a Pentagon base consolidation plan, but it received a reprieve in August 2021. The Army deemed it “optimal for future growth,” Stars and Stripes reported at the time.
“We’re making significant strides in infrastructure improvements, ensuring that our facilities meet the evolving needs of our personnel,” Dixon said, according to a transcript of his remarks at the Evening with Friends.
Only $4.8 million of the total has been awarded thus far and the majority of the work will be proposed over the next two fiscal years, base spokeswoman Gerlinde Hoyle said Monday. Renovations to a building for unaccompanied housing and two administration buildings are nearly complete.
The work at Barton will include modernization of administration buildings, construction of a new vehicle maintenance facility and two new housing barracks, as well as relocation of civilian services and remodeling of the base fitness center, Hoyle said.
Additional projects proposed for Ansbach include updated family housing, a pedestrian bridge over the B14 highway connecting the Bismarck and Katterbach installations, a community center at Urlas Kaserne and extensive renovations to Storck Barracks in Illesheim, Hoyle said.
