Fort Benning expects 70 percent of soldiers, civilian workers to live, eat and shop off post

Those two areas of the Columbus economy -- housing and retail -- are expected to be among the biggest winners financially as Fort Benning’s population blossoms by as many as 28,000 people starting in March and moving into September.

By Tony Adams

“We’ve experienced a good bit of the trickle-in effect of the early moves and have sold a number of houses,” said Jack Key, a partner with the real-estate firm Coldwell Banker/Kennon, Parker, Duncan & Key, which does business in Georgia and Alabama.

“The bulk of it is not supposed to come, though, until about May, and we’re expecting a flood of people in here,” he said. “It should resemble an avalanche between May 1 and October 1.”

“You’ve got to think that with nearly 30,000 new neighbors, the movie theaters, the furniture stores, the car dealers, the restaurants, the grocery stores, the sporting goods stores, just about everything is going to get a big lift,” said Key, a former chamber chairman. “I can only imagine what it’s going to be like to have something akin the size of Rome, Georgia, drop in the middle of our market, kind of overnight.”


Read more: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/01/03/1405248/bennings-boost-from-brac-expected.html#ixzz1E8JSa3VW

Thunder in the Valley Air Show

14th Annual Thunder in the Valley Air Show
March 19 -20, 2011
Columbus Airport
http://www.thunderinthevalleyairshow.com/plaintext/home/home.aspx

People boom from BRAC at Fort Benning about to be seen

- By Tony Adams

It was more than five years ago that the federal government unveiled plans to relocate the U.S. Army Armor School and Center to Fort Benning, launching an expansion not seen at the post since the buildup to the Vietnam War.
And it’s taken time to put the pieces in place for the moment when a small city of soldiers and civilians arrive from Fort Knox, Ky., and other installations around the world to staff an infantry/armor-blended organization called the Maneuver Center of Excellence.

Starting in March, soldiers, civilian workers and some family members will begin relocating to Fort Benning. The pace is expected to pick up in May as schools let out and more families with children make their way to the Columbus area.  By mid-September, Fort Benning is projected to have in its ranks as many as 28,000 more troops, civilian staffers (both Department of the Army and contractors) and spouses with children.


Read more: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/01/02/1404183/people-boom-from-brac-at-fort.html#ixzz1A5GkxUx9