Fort Carson celebrated a new phase of housing construction Monday as it welcomed a new garrison commander.
Col. Erik Oksenvaag took over the role similar to serving as a mayor for Fort Carson from Col. Sean Brown. Like a city leader, Oksenvaag will oversee large infrastructure projects such as updates to the electrical grid and the new housing going up in Arapahoe Village, among other responsibilities.
The work on the new housing east of Highway 115 started about two years ago with demolition and Monday the base celebrated the first wall going up in a home.
“This project has been a long time coming,” said Brown, who attended the celebration as one of his last acts as garrison commander. Over the last two years, crews have been putting in needed utilities such as electrical, water and sewer lines, he said.
The project also faced delays because Balfour Beatty Communities has been working on refinancing for the local project and extending its ground lease for another 25 years, Brown said previously. Balfour Beatty is a large company managing 56 military communities across 26 states.
Across Fort Carson, crews are building a school, a gym, renewable energy projects and preparing to start on new homes.
In his new position, Oksenvaag said he expected housing would be his top priority, as it was for his predecessor Brown, who faced numerous complaints over housing maintenance.
Brown expected the new homes would be provide modern…
