The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday formally opened a new building to house a host of administrative and support functions at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.
NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) attended a ribbon-cutting for the John C. Drummond Center, named for the longest-serving manager for the nuclear-weapon assembly and disassembly complex.
The three-story, 342,800-square-foot building will house about 1,100 employees of Pantex management and operations prime Consolidated Nuclear Security and the NNSA’s Production Office (NPO), which oversees the site. That is one-third of the Pantex workforce, including CNS managers and personnel in procurement, human relations, engineering, medical, supply chain management, and other operations. Those workers previously have been spread across more than 52 facilities at Pantex.
The building also features an auditorium, cafeteria, medical clinic, and fitness center.
Turner Construction started work in August 2016 and completed the building on time and on budget, NPO spokesman Steven Wyatt said by email Thursday. The cost of the facility was not immediately released.
“The JCDC is a privately financed and owned building, and is located on private property that has been leased to Consolidated Nuclear Security,” Wyatt said. “The JCDC will enable elimination of approximately $20 million in deferred maintenance by consolidating administrative functions from more than 52 legacy facilities at the Pantex site into one modern, energy-efficient building.”
Lawler Wood owns the building JCDC leased, and arranged the financing for the deal, said Wyatt.
Consolidated Nuclear Security is a partnership of Bechtel National, Leidos, Orbital ATK, and SOC. The team also manages the NNSA’s Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee.
