Many new projects are now underway at Holmes Electric, including our newly formed Military and Special Projects Division. Holmes Electric has added Senior Project Manager Paul Jobson to our team. Paul is our specialist in Military and Government projects and was brought on board to help us increase our workload at Fort Lewis and other government sites throughout our state and beyond. Paul has had tremendous success with this challenge. Our ever-growing presence on Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a direct result of his efforts.

Our anchor military project to date has been a partnership formed with Wade Perrow Construction to construct the new Army National Guard Readiness Center. This is a 3-story masonry structure sitting on approximately 69,000 sf base, which will house the 66th Aviation Brigade Administration, I-168th Battalion Administration, communications, medical exam facility, equipment storage, training facilities, assembly hall, dining facilities, classrooms and maintenance facilities.

The Readiness Center is well underway and making great progress with structural steel now being erected and roof structure to follow very soon. This present schedule has this building project being completed by July 2011.

In addition, the high profile Fort Lewis Museum project can be seen alongside I-5 and is also just getting into full swing—another Wade Perrow project. This is a complete remodel and preservation of the historical building. The facility will be closed for the next year, which will give us ample opportunity to properly clean and rebuild the structure and make it a true showcase facility to display the history of military progress. Preserving the historic value of the finishes and yet adding all new power distribution, security, fire and lighting control systems is always a challenge—but of the utmost importance.

In addition, we also have the remodel and expansion of four Child Development Centers (CDC) located throughout the Fort Lewis base. With the demolition phase now completed, Pease Construction is working hard to open up two locations for us to get started on the reconstruction and installation of the ever-important fire and security systems that will guard these children, as well as the complete new installation of the distribution system and exterior lighting. Oh, and let’s also not forget the parking for the parents. With our increased visibility and presence on the Fort Lewis base, Holmes Electric’s reputation for professionalism and our ability to get the work done properly at the “Lowest Installed Cost” has really caught the attention of many contractors here and have led us to perform additional work like the relighting and fire detection system with Centennial Construction at the 9640 Logistics’ Center. This type of “Get In and Get It Done” work has always been one of Holmes’ strengths and we look forward to working well with Centennial on many other projects still pending at Fort Lewis.

On the Special Projects side of this team, Holmes is presently under contract with JTM Construction to provide the design and engineering for the long-awaited LeMay Car Museum. Still in the planning and development stages, this structure is going to be built adjacent to the Tacoma Dome and should really become an iconic destination for many visitors to the Tacoma area. Slated to begin construction this spring, we are all excited to see what innovations this design team will come up with and to start building this monument to the auto industry from the ground up.

Our Military and Special Projects Division is growing almost daily now and has proven a great opportunity for Holmes to build on its long established relationship with our fellow electricians at Local 76 Tacoma as well as preserving our Holmes team dispatched and working in the Seattle Local 46. As our work continues to grow, watch for Holmes Electric to fully establish itself as the top quality electrical contractor in the Tacoma area as it has in the Seattle market for the last 65 years.