European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 9, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 9 2007 stars and stripes pages Ramstein mall hotel Complex problems mount officials predict project will open later and Cost More than planned by Scott Schonauer stars and stripes Ramstein air base Germany construction of ram steins million mall and hotel Complex has faced manage ment problems and officials predict it will open More than two years later than Origi Nally planned and Cost millions of dollars More than the project described As the pentagons largest in the world is on Pace to Cost 20 percent More than originally contracted due to the delays and a cavalcade of prob lems air Force project managers revealed in interviews last week serious design problems and delays have halted work on some portions of the building and required numerous trips Back to the drawing Board a Lack of coordination among the 36 contractors has led to miscommunication and bitter disputes the roof Over the Complex called the Kaiserslautern military Community Cen Ter leaks and some parts will have to be torn up and redone said capt Andrew Sheehan the 435th civil engineering squadrons Mcc project manager to make matters worse the roofing com Pany is now bankrupt which Means it leaves behind a mess it is no longer obligated to repair if theres one part of the facility you want to go right if s the foundation said Sheehan if theres two parts if s the roof and the foundation and the last thing you want to happen is for your roof contractor to go bankrupt Landes Betriex Liege schafts und Baube Treu ung or construction manage ment and contracting Agency of the state of Rhineland palatinate equivalent to the us army corps of engineers oversees the project the us air Force has its own team of engineers for the project paid for by us and German funds the delay is disappointing news for those eager to visit what military officials say will be one of the largest and Best us military shopping and hotel complexes project managers Hope the hotel will Greet its first guests sometime before Christmas but the shopping Center might not open until a year from now officials Are reluctant to pinpoint the exact month the 844000squarefoot building with 40 stores a Large food court a spa Cious outdoor recreation Center and 350 hotel rooms overlooking the base runway being built to boost the Quality of life for americans stationed in the Region some have called it the pentagons version of mall of America note to readers in Italy due to the easter Holiday today stars and stripes is late to locations in Italy the printing facility in Italy was closed the night of sunday april 8 newspapers were printed in Germany and shipped to Italy we regret any in convenience this causes our readers when German state pol photos by Ben and stripes makers11 gathered pedestrians walk past the troubled Kaiserslautern military Community Center project thursday before the week to dedicate a Mon Start a ceremony dubbing Ramstein air base the new Gateway to Europe ment officially anointing Ramstein As the Gateway to Europe forces m commands program the Yetto refinished mall and hotel management Branch chief planners put construction of the facility loomed behind them Rhineland palatinate state minister of finance Ingolf Deubel acknowledged the project along with others on the base had stretched our capacities to the limits and the Complex had not gone As planned in some cases differences cannot be avoided As unfortunately currently has happened with the construction of the new Mcc shopping mail Deubel said the project was originally supposed to open in late 2005 base officials cited poor weather the Lack of a prime contractor and vandalism for last years delay investigators Are still trying to find who broke into the hotel and rolled acrylic paint onto 240 of the rooms a year ago causing in damage but More troubles have also emerged faulty designs and the Lack of a prime contractor also contributed to the delay adding confusion to the work site lab urged the air Force to spread the wealth among smaller and midsize con tractors in the Region last september lab fired the German firm hired to manage the various Compa Nies due to the Lack of coordination the great variety of contractors really complicated coordination and resulted in delays said Fred Waterman us air on the fast track using a Designas Yugo Type of approach for it to work designers must keep up a strict timeline the Ger Man design companies didst that left contractors with nothing to do but wait when the designs did arrive Many times they were wrong Sheehan said Ceil ing Heights for some stores didst match the food court counters were in the wrong spot and the foundation for the escalator was a meter off the Mark to help with Quality Assurance and avoid future problems the air Force has doubled its portion of the project team to 17 staff members the largest problem the team now faces is the leaking roof left by the bankrupt con tractor the roof was supposed to be Oneo faking and environmentally Friendly workers spread soil and crushed Rock across the 400000squarefoot roof so that they could grow grass and plants base officials said the Green roof would retain water better and help slash Energy costs but Sheehan and Waterman said the con tractor didst install it correctly German and american engineers know the roof is in bad shape but they dont know exactly How bad they hired a firm to look at it and see what needs to be done results of the study wont be ready for an other two months at this Point things dont look Good pumps Are being used to suck out the water that has saturated the insulation leaks have created standing water inside and ruined some parts of the Interior air Force project managers noticed the problems in july and Sheehan and water Man said lab wrote numerous letters to the contractor about the concerns but nothing happened we raised the alarm and it want heeded and it should have been Waterman said the delays have done More than create Cost overruns and shatter Hopes of Christ Mas shopping at the new mall this year the hotel trained 28 workers in anticipation of the inn opening this year that left a group of employees ready to accept their first customers without a place to put them despite the problems Sheehan said the Center would be a great place to stay and shop for people who live in the area and those travelling through the base our Community is anxiously awaiting and in equally As frustrated As every other member of the Community that if s not progressing As scheduled and i work every Day to push it a Little faster he said email Scott Schonauer at capt Andrew Sheehan 435th civil engineering squadrons Jim cd construction worker Alexander Weisenger shoots a layer of soil onto the roof of the Kaiserslautern military Community Center last August