最新杏吧原创

The project is on pace for an expected April 2023 completion, Army Corps of Engineers officials say. Construction is expected to begin this year after the Department of Defense announced that a joint venture of Rock Hill-based McCarthy Building Companies and HITT Contracting was given a $712 million contract to build the NGA鈥檚 new western headquarters.

That鈥檚 only part of the construction costs and does not include 鈥渟mall-business set asides鈥� 鈥� essentially local subcontractors who will be hired as part of the overall project鈥檚 construction, Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Amy Snively said.

Those costs, plus the costs in procuring land for the site and for post-construction outfitting of the building, are expected to drive the total bill of the project to roughly $1.7 billion, authorized by Congress in spending over several budget cycles.

Congress has appropriated just under $408 million so far to design and to begin construction, according to the Department of Defense announcement of the building contract. Congress will have to approve future appropriations. Trump has asked for an additional $218 million for the NGA in his 2020 budget request.

Money for this project is appropriated through the Pentagon鈥檚 military construction budget. Those funds are the ones Trump has identified as potential sources of money for border construction that has been denied by Congress.

That request has caused a political and legal tempest, with Democrats accusing Trump of weakening other areas of the defense establishment in order to fulfill a campaign promise. Republicans, including Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., support the declaration and say Trump is responding to a bona fide national emergency and national security threat by trying to curb illegal immigration across the border.

Several states have sued to stop Trump鈥檚 emergency declaration. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who lauded the construction contract award, also voted for a resolution of disapproval, arguing that Trump was stepping on Congress鈥� constitutional authority to appropriate funds by proposing to take border money from other projects.

And Democrats have seized on reports by the Marine Corps commandant that allege Trump is eroding preparedness by proposing to move funding from military construction to the border wall.

that Marine Corps General Robert Neller has warned the Pentagon that by moving troops to the southwest border and proposing fund transfers for the border wall, Trump鈥檚 emergency declaration is an 鈥渦nacceptable risk to Marine Corps combat readiness and solvency.鈥�

鈥淚f the president won鈥檛 listen to the American people or Congress, then listen to the commandant of the Marine Corps,鈥� Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said, in continuing Democrats鈥� arguments against any potential fund transfers.

But spokespeople for both the Corps of Engineers and the NGA have said they have received no notice from the White House that could affect future funding toward the new NGA building in 最新杏吧原创, the biggest federal project in the city鈥檚 history.

鈥淲e at this time are not aware of any plans or attempts to take funding away from this program,鈥� said Snively, an outreach program specialist for the Corps of Engineers in the Kansas City District.

The Kansas City District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will oversee the project鈥檚 construction.

The McCarthy-HITT team also includes Herndon, Va.-based Akima, which provides construction services; San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler; and Kansas City-based engineering firm Black & Veatch. HITT is based in Falls Church, Va.

The 97-acre NGA site is in the 最新杏吧原创 Place neighborhood at Jefferson and Cass avenues. The project features a 712,000-square-foot office building, parking garages, visitor center, remote inspection facility and access control points. It replaces the NGA鈥檚 current aging facility south of downtown.

Jacob Barker of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.