Gen 13 2008
ederle
www.comitatoviest.org/wp-content/uploads/file/noi unuci giugno 2007.pdf
articolo stars and stripes 14 ottobre 2007
While troops are away, Caserma Ederle gets a
facelift
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, October 14, 2007
VICENZA, Italy — Officials at Caserma Ederle are taking advantage
of the majority of the base’s activeduty Army population being
deployed to engage in a series of construction projects around base.
Kent Harris / S&S
Work on the soldier and family entertainment
facility is progressing at Caserma Ederle; it should
be completed by the end of next summer.
We see this as an opportunity to do this work while the soldiers are
deployed, so they come back to better facilities,” said David Murr,
director of the department of public works.
Some of the projects were specifically designed to take place while
members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team are serving a
15month deployment in Afghanistan. Others just happened to fit into
the schedule.
Murr said a $3.8 million renovation of 500 barracks rooms — all those
on base other than the two newest multistory facilities — is the top
priority.
Kent Harris / S&S
Going through 500 rooms turns out to be quite a task if you’ve got to Parts of the antiquated heating system at Caserma
Ederle in Vicenza, Italy, are in need of replacement.
get it done before the troops get back next summer,” he said.
The rooms recently were equipped with cable television and Internet
connections in a deal with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. But the new work will help give soldiers
a bit more privacy and update facilities that date back to around World War II, Murr said.
Soldiers currently living on Ederle have all been relocated to the two new barracks buildings in the meantime.
One refurbished barracks building near Davis Hall will serve as living quarters for wounded soldiers who are
recuperating from injuries. It’ll be more accessible for those with temporary handicaps.
The building also will serve as the new home for the United Service Organizations and Better Opportunities
for Single Soldiers on base.
Murr said the base swimming pool — closed because of pipe problems and a substandard covering — will
get a new look.
It, too, will be more handicapped accessible and feature a retractable roof. The $1.6 million project should be
done by June.
Several improvements to the base physical fitness center are also in the works.
They’ll result in expanded sauna and steam rooms and racquetball courts.
The bowling center will disappear around the end of the year and will eventually reappear in a newer and
larger configuration inside the soldier and family entertainment facility that has risen across the street.
That facility is also set to debut around the time that troops return.
It’s designed for daytime use and nighttime use,” said Frank Powell, real property master planner.
In addition to the bowling alley on the first floor, the entertainment facility will feature a snack bar, area for
video games and rooms where families can hold birthday partings or other celebrations.
Other multipurpose rooms are set for the second floor, as is a bar area overlooking the bowling alley.
A balcony outside could provide some of the best views on base, Powell said.
A $1.7 million project to refurbish the base’s dining facility will result in a new kitchen, larger coldstorage
areas and an air conditioning system that will make the place “less like a sauna” in the summer, Murr said.
Other projects include a pair of diesel generators that will help offset some of the base’s electrical needs,
$400,000 in work on the arts and crafts center, a multipurpose sports field featuring artificial turf in the
northeast section of the base, and an Internet cafe/family area in the building that used to house Subway.