AAFES Joint Military Mall Testimonial
AAFES
To All Interested Parties:
In September 1999, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and the Defense
Commissary Agency (DeCA) opened a $35 Million joint shopping center on Elmendorf Air
Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska. This exceptional (330,000 SF) facility is one of the largest joint
projects constructed to date by the two organizations. It is also one of our first joint projects done
by the “design-build” project delivery method. This process took only seventeen short months
from contract award to grand opening and included a sizeable quantity of owner generated
changes.
This facility provides a large full-service Commissary (super market), a Main Exchange (retail
department store) which is among the largest in AAFES, an optical clinic, smaller retail facilities
and a large food court along a large, very attractive pedestrian shopping mall, all under one roof.
It has become our standard for furture AAFES shopping centers.
As the Contracting Officer for the entire project, I want to commend our contractor,
Neeser Construction, Inc. (NCI), for creating such a fine facility. NCI is made up of a team of
dedicated professionals at all levels of their organization. They deliver a truly quality product in a
timely manner and treated our project as if it was their own. All members of their team take great
pride in their work and reputation. NCI is among the most customer-focused contractors I’ve
encountered. They exceeded expectations with their ability to incorporate owner generated
changes with absolutely minimal disruption to an extremely tight schedule. They are very “team
oriented” in their approach to construction. I was very pleased with their readiness to help as
needed before and after the actual Grand Opening. They worked very closely with us throughout
the process to insure all our special requirements were addressed to OUR satisfaction. This was
one of those rare, truly enjoyable projects and I would readily work with Neeser Construction,
Inc. again at any time.
Please call if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
KENNETH NORROD
Contracting Officer
Construction and Equipment Division
Army and Air Force Exchange Service
972-277-1695
-KENNETH NORROD Contracting Officer Construction and Equipment Division, Army and Air Force Exchange Service