Wright-Patt Exchange reopens with $6.4M upgrade Oct. 25

  • Published
  • By John Harrington
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Exchange customers are invited to the facility’s grand reopening ceremony Thursday, Oct. 25 beginning at 8:30 a.m. with special guests the Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleaders and Bengal’s mascot Who Dey taking photos and signing autographs later in the day.

The special ceremony with cake cutting, guests and weekend-only sales culminates a $6.4 million renovation that began last October and included remodeling both the interior and exterior of the building, a new customer service area, Buy Online Pickup In Store service, new fixtures, new Food Court seating, polished concrete floors and a Mural Hero Wall in the mall entrance, as well as infrastructure and other improvements.

“This remodel touched every corner of the shopping center,” WPAFB Exchange General Manager Jermaine Wilson said. “From an open floor plan in the main Exchange, to new tables in the food court, to contemporary concrete floors throughout and so much more—we wanted to not only modernize, but simplify the shopping experience for the best customers in the world.”

The Exchange contributed $4.95 million from its own earnings to the project, a direct effect of Exchange shoppers, with Wright-Patterson contributing the remaining $1.45 million. Wilson said that besides building new stores and renovation, 100 percent of Exchange earnings support the military community, including Quality-of-Life programs such as Air Force Recreation activities.

“I feel honored to have been a part of this upgrade process,” Wilson said. “It gives me—and the Exchange—an opportunity to reaffirm our dedication to the more than 40,000 Warfighters, retirees and family members who call Wright-Patterson home.”

While the ceremony marks the official reopening, improvements will continue with the renovated mall Beauty Shop expected to receive new equipment in mid-November.

Wright-Patterson’s main Exchange building is nearly 40-years old and was last remodeled in 2010.