At Osan Air Base in South Korea, this new 14-story apartment building will become home to command-sponsored families later this month. A separate four-level parking garage will serve residents of the building, which is called Hallasan Tower, as well as residents of a nearby 10-story apartment building set to open in May. (Franklin Fisher / S&S)
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — An eagerly awaited high-rise apartment building that will house command-sponsored families at Osan is set to open this month, officials said.
The 14-story, $27 million Hallasan Tower will house 112 families and has a playground and a four-level parking garage with 417 spaces.
The $3.2 million garage will serve Hallasan residents and those of another nearby housing tower set to open in May.
Osan officials were to take formal possession of Hallasan Tower on Friday. Families will begin moving in later this month, said Tech. Sgt. Matthew L. Summers, a spokesman for Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing.
“For those families that are downtown and would rather live on base, yes, it is eagerly awaited,” he said.
Command-sponsored families whose assignments entitle them to three- or four-bedroom housing are eligible for housing at Hallasan, Summers said.
Letters outlining the move-in schedule have already gone out to those families, Summers said.
Hallasan has 80 three-bedroom and 32 four-bedroom apartments, two passenger elevators and a service elevator. Seven of the four-bedroom units are set aside for disabled persons under the Americans with Disabilities Act, he said.
Each three-bedroom unit measures about 1,950 square feet; each four-bedroom unit is about 2,250 square feet.
When the 10-story, $23.7 million Jirisan Tower opens in May, it will have 104 apartments for command-sponsored families.
“First and foremost, it’s improving the quality of life for the accompanied members, because in the past there had been very limited on-base housing for accompanied members,” Summers said.
In addition, he said, the U.S. military in South Korea has been moving to increase the number of command-sponsored families “to stabilize this tour and provide more continuity for the base, as opposed to in the past, when everyone rotated out on a one-year tour.”
Construction on Hallasan began in November 2005. The Woojung Construction Co. Ltd. carried out the project under contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Hallasan Tower amenitiesAll apartments at Hallasan Tower include the following amenities:
