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.

The military's announcement last year that the 1st Infantry Division would return to Fort Riley, adding 19,000 troops in the next five years, has caught the attention of developers and retailers hoping to capitalize on the population boom.

Lawrence developers, bankers and investors who cast their gaze about 100 miles west of town don’t see the prairie grass and rolling hills everyone else sees.

They see opportunities.

More specifically, they see Fort Riley and its neighboring communities that are at the center of one of the fastest-growing areas of the region.

“There’s a multitude of new construction,” said Roger Morningstar, a local developer with interests in Fort Riley. “You see it all over the place.”

Morningstar, along with his partners in Red Barn Homes and Planet Construction, are building about 150 duplexes and single-family homes in Junction City.

Last year’s announcement that the 1st Infantry Division will return to the military outpost, adding 19,000 troops in the next five years, caught the eye of Morningstar and his partners.

He’s not alone; dozens of other competing investors and financiers have turned their eye on the Fort Riley area.

“It went from nobody to everybody, it seems like overnight,” Morningstar said.

“We’re seeing people from Kansas City, Wichita, even up in Nebraska and farther up than that,” said Josh McKim, executive director of the Junction City/Geary County Economic Development Commission.

Houses and commercial developments have ballooned in not only Junction City, but outlying communities like Chapman, Abilene and Manhattan.

The development has continued unabated since last summer’s announcement, even though the rate of return for troops has been up and down since then.

John Armbrust, executive director of the Governor’s Military Council, said erratic troop deployments have resulted in some periods when military personnel aren’t coming back to Fort Riley as quickly as originally predicted.

“I think that the deployments can be perceived as slowing it down, instead of a nice smooth growth curve, you’re going to see some spikes and downturns,” he said. “What we’re seeing is more spikes and troughs than we had originally intended due to the real-world situation of troop deployments.”

So far, it’s been the housing development that has taken off far faster than the commercial side.

McKim said the Junction City area has been a boon for developers who can provide homes at a lower cost, which is important when building residences for military personnel.

“When you deal with military, you need to keep the housing prices right around $150,000 to be affordable,” McKim said.

Other Lawrence residential builders in the area include First Management Inc., which is building a 600-unit apartment complex and a hotel. Big D Development is also adding apartments, homes and duplexes with the help of Lawrence investors.

Ted Haggart, president of Douglas County Bank, has been helping finance interests that have moved forward with investments in the Fort Riley area.

He says commercial development should catch up with the housing boom soon.

“There were announcements of a major retail center developing right on the periphery in Junction City,” Haggart said. “Large-scale retailers have combined with smaller retail shops that are in the planning stage.”

Along with growth comes some resistance. McKim said some members of the Junction City community have had some apprehension to the growth.

Also, the city has had to quickly jump on building infrastructure to support the growth.

“On the whole, the community is very much behind the growth,” McKim said.

It ought to be, because it appears that development won’t slow any time soon.

“I go out about weekly to do a community tour to see what’s going on with the housing and other developments that’s going on out there,” McKim said. “And every time, it’s dramatic.”