Junction City ? An announcement last week that the Army is adding a new brigade at Fort Riley has Junction City officials wondering if the city has enough housing for 3,400 more soldiers.

City Manager Rod Barnes said he’s not worried about a shortage, despite an estimated increase of about 8,000 people in the area — figuring that each soldier brings an average family of 1.5 people.

In 1992, he said, Fort Riley had more than 14,000 soldiers. Since then, Junction City’s housing stock has increased, while the population at the base fell to about 10,500.

“Will the housing that is here fill up? Yes,” Barnes said. “Would the housing market get tighter? Probably. And would it entice people to build? Well, that is the $64,000 question. I think that it will.”

The Army announced on June 23 that it is creating a new infantry brigade in 2006 that will be stationed at Fort Riley.

Construction already is under way on new housing in the city. In the next 18 months, Barnes said, four to six new housing developments will open up, adding between 400 and 500 housing units in Junction City.

Junction City’s population in 1990 was about 22,000, according to the Census Bureau, but that dropped to about 18,000 by 2000.

Mayor Mick Wunder says only good things will come from the addition of the brigade, and not just for Junction City. Nearby Manhattan also is likely to see an increase in soldiers and their families.

“We are not going to realistically get all those people here in Junction City,” Wunder said. “But keep in mind, it is still in our area, and people are going to drive back and forth, and it is going to help our economy.”

Some area developers believe the housing demand will be even greater than city officials are estimating. Developer Jim McCullough estimated that Junction City will need at least 1,000 more housing units than it currently has.

“I guess it will all depend on whether they are temporary or long term, and at this point we don’t know that,” McCullough said.

“In any event, it is going to be a positive thing.”