John Armbrust, executive director of the Governor’s Military Council, is coming to Lawrence to remind business leaders of what many of them already know.

Expansion at Fort Riley is a big economic deal.

“It’s huge for this region,” Armbrust said. “The (additional) direct economic impact probably will be $500 million per year – on top of the $850 million already.”

Armbrust’s presentation – to be delivered during a Lawrence Chamber of Commerce luncheon Tuesday at the Eldridge Hotel – will provide the latest information, forecasts and projections for Lawrence business leaders to use in deciding how they might be able to tap into the rapidly growing market.

There’s no shortage of possibilities, he said.

“Schools are looking at facilities,” Armbrust said. “Child care is something we’re looking at. There are opportunities beyond just housing.”

Armbrust, a retired Air Force colonel and a former vice president for the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, oversees operations of the Governor’s Military Council, the successor to the Governor’s Strategic Military Planning Commission. The commission had been formed to help prevent closure or cuts at military bases in Kansas, and to foster expansion if possible.

Lawrence's First Management Inc. and a Kansas City-area partner are among local companies doing projects related to expansion at Fort Riley. The partners are building a 0 million apartment complex in Junction City, shown in August, that could grow to 1,200 units.

This summer, the 1st Infantry Division made its formal return to Fort Riley, an outpost of more than 100,000 acres that the division had left in 1996 after more than two decades in place. Fort Riley is between Junction City and Manhattan, about 90 miles west of Lawrence.

Fort Riley is poised to be home for nearly 19,000 troops within five years, up from 11,000 last year. The military plans to spend $1 billion through 2011 on construction and new equipment at the fort.

The activity already has drawn some Lawrence investors, builders and service providers to stake claims in Junction City:

¢ First Management Inc. and a Kansas City-area partner are building a $50 million, 600-unit apartment complex that soon could grow to 1,200 apartments as soldiers and other personnel seek housing. First Management also is building a $3 million hotel, expected to be popular among travelers and out-of-town construction workers alike.

¢ Big D Development, a partnership with Lawrence investors, is putting up more than 500 apartments, plus preparing another 528 lots for construction of homes and duplexes. Estimated cost: $60 million.

¢ Roger Morningstar and partners in Red Barn Homes and Planet Construction are spending $24 million to develop and build 100 duplexes and 50 single-family homes.

¢ Landplan Engineering Inc. recently opened an office in Junction City, and dozens of Lawrence-area plumbers, electricians and equipment operators make the trip down Interstate 70 to find work.

Armbrust welcomes them all. As construction demands far outstrip resources of contractors in the region, he said, it’s good to see other Kansas investors and developers step in to help – and prosper.

“There’s a lot more work,” he said. “It’s not all started, and there’s more to be done.”