Construction underway for new Hurlburt child development centers Published March 25, 2010 By Senior Airman Ryan Whitney 1st Special Operations Wing Public AFfairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Hurlburt Field recently began the construction process for two new child development centers, which are slated to double the capacity of children the base CDCs can support from 250 to about 500. The smaller CDC, located by the main gate and current CDC, will house 120 children and is scheduled to be completed December 2010. The larger CDC, located on the East side of base near the Base Exchange, is scheduled to be completed May 2011. Once the CDCs are completed, the majority of the children on the 260 name wait list will be able to attend the CDCs. "Our mission here is to ensure our blue-suiters can go to work every day and concentrate on the mission knowing their children are in quality care," said Lynda Miller, Airman and Family Services flight chief. "We have affordable quality care for all our Airmen, but due to space, we aren't as accessible as we would like to be. With these new CDCs, we will be able to provide more care and support to Air Force families here." Due to the vast increase in children attending the CDCs, the staff will also increase by about 60 people, ensuring every child gets as much attention and help from the instructors as possible. One of the biggest challenges faced was constructing the facilities around the protected wetlands on base. In order to build without disturbing the natural environment, the west CDC site is being constructed behind the commissary and BX and the west CDC is being constructed in close proximity to the current CDC where the base recreational skate park once stood, said 1st Lt. Daniel Wilcoxen, 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron Programs Flight deputy chief. Hurlburt Field has 33 acres of buildable land remaining on the base that is not protected wetlands. After construction of the CDCs, a new location for the skate park will be determined. The new CDCs will be built to the new Air Force standard, an initiative designed to keep all CDCs across the Air Force consistent in terms of services and facility layout as families move from base to base. There are currently more than 50 CDCs built under this initiative, said Ms. Miller. These facilities will also implement a color-coding scheme to the rooms and shapes. Each room will be themed towards a certain color found in the Florida gulf area. This will create a vibrant learning environment designed to help children learn colors and shapes during a crucial developmental period without over stimulating them, as well as making it easier to navigate the building, said Nancy Adams, Hurlburt Field CDC director. There will also be a new, certified-natural outdoor classrooms for all age groups at the east CDC, consisting of hills, sandpits and other natural and fun learning environments, designed to reintroduce children to the outdoors. It will be similar to the first built in the Air Force months ago at the Hurlburt Field Youth Center. "Of all the great things these CDCs will have, one of the things I am most excited about is the new playground," said Ms. Adams. "In this age of technology, children's attention spans are two thirds that of what they were 20 years ago. We hope to help the enrolled children adjust to a slower pace and help increase their attention span during this critical time of development in their lives with a more peaceful and natural surrounding." Together, the west CDC, funded by non-appropriated funds as an emergency intervention project, and the east CDC funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, cost more than $16 million. For more information on the new CDCs, or to enroll a child into the program, contact 884-6664 or email 1SOFSS.FSFC@hurlburt.af.mil.