JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Breaks Ground on New Exchange Shopping Center
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON – Leaders from the Army & Air Exchange Service, the 502nd Air Base Wing, U.S. Army Medical Command and Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston took the first steps in making a new $54 million Exchange shopping center a reality during a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 13.
Mike Immler, Exchange deputy director; Anna Iosefo, Exchange Central Region senior vice president; Rear Adm. Rebecca McCormick-Boyle, commander, Navy Medicine Education, Training & Logistics Command; Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle, commander, 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio; and Maj. Gen. Patrick Sargent, deputy commanding general for operations, U.S. Army Medical Command; were among the dignitaries who donned hard hats and lifted shovels to officially begin the project.
“The entire military community wins when we work together, and this new shopping center will be proof,” Iosefo said.
The shopping center is a joint venture among the Exchange, the Air Force and Army Medical Command. The Exchange—not the American taxpayer— is funding 94 percent of the project.
The 210,000-square-foot shopping center, expected to open in early 2020, will replace the current facility, which was built in 1971 and most recently remodeled in 2010. The shopping center will include:
- The main Exchange.
- Mall with a dental clinic and pharmacy.
- Food court with eight restaurants—Starbucks, Sarku Japan, Freshens, Subway, Charleys, Boston Market, Qdoba and Arby’s.
Roughly 263,000 authorized shoppers in the greater San Antonio area will benefit from a modern shopping experience while helping improve the quality of life for those who call Fort Sam Houston home as 100 percent of Exchange earnings support service members and their families. Two-thirds of Exchange earnings support Army Child Development Centers, Youth Programs and Fitness Centers, Air Force Outdoor Recreation, school lunches for Warfighters’ children overseas and combat uniforms. The remaining earnings support improving the shopping experience, including new shopping centers like the one at Fort Sam Houston.
“The Exchange is family serving family,” Iosefo said. “We are honored to be a part of Fort Sam’s family—we cannot wait to serve this community with a new modern shopping center our Nation’s military deserves.”
Leaders from the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, the 502nd Air Base Wing, U.S. Army Medical Command and Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston break ground on the new 210,000-square-foot Exchange shopping center at Fort Sam Houston, expected to open in 2020.
From left are: Mike Immler, Exchange deputy director; Anna Iosefo, Exchange Central Region senior vice president; Trini Saucedo, Services, Food & Fuel Directorate senior vice president; Mike Smietana, Real Estate Directorate senior vice president; Maj. Gen. Patrick Sargent, deputy commanding general for operations, U.S. Army Medical Command; Rear Adm. Rebecca McCormick-Boyle, commander, Navy Medicine Education, Training & Logistics Command; Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle, commander, 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio; Col. David Raugh, commander, 502nd Force Support Group; Larry Salgado, Exchange region vice president; and John Burk, Exchange general manager.
