JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The Foulois House at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston has reopened its doors to distinguished visitors and military dignitaries after a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 15 that marked the completion of renovations to the historic building and lodge.
Participating in the ribbon cutting were Col. David Raugh, 502nd Force Support Group commander at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, and representatives from Lendlease, the company that owns the Foulois House and oversaw the house’s renovation.
The Foulois House is operated and managed by InterContinental Hotels Group, or IHG, and IHG Army Hotels, both private-sector companies, and provides lodging services for military officers, government travelers and dignitaries visiting JBSA-Fort Sam Houston.
Renovations to the historic house, which was constructed in 1908 as the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters on Fort Sam Houston, include improvements to its 13 guest suites and bathrooms, a new air conditioning and heating system, new electrical wiring, new light fixtures and structural repairs.
The Foulois House was closed to visitors for more than a year while undergoing renovations.
Raugh complemented the work of Lendlease, IHG and IHG Army Hotels for their work in renovating the historic house.
“I love that they have managed to keep so much of the historical woodwork, the glasswork, the flooring and things like that,” Raugh said. “They have managed to save all that, restore it fully and then add modern amenities to the whole process. It makes the whole thing look absolutely classy.”
The 109-year-old house is named for Lt. Benjamin Foulois, an Army aviator who completed the first military flight in Army Aircraft No. 1 at Fort Sam Houston on March 2, 1910. Starting in 1968, the house became the Visiting Officer Quarters and in 1977 was designated as the Distinguished Visitor Quarters for touring dignitaries.
On March 2, 1981, the house was dedicated and renamed for Foulois, 71 years to the day after he made history by completing the first military flight at Fort Sam Houston.
The Foulois House is part of the IHG Army Hotel’s Historia Collection, which helps to preserve historic structures on Army installations across the U.S., and the Privatization of Army Lodging, or PAL, program, which includes more than 12,000 rooms across 40 Army installations. As part of the PAL program, over $1 billion will be invested to improve existing hotels and build new hotels.
Raugh said the partnership between the Army and Lendlease and IHG Army Hotels, which began in 2009, has helped to preserve historic structures on Army installations while providing high quality services and amenities for guests.
“IHG has been able to really look out and over several years reinvest in these facilities and installations and do things like modernize,” Raugh said. “What that does is it dramatically decreases the overhead that the Army has to pay for upkeep of these installations and allows them to just come up with some absolutely beautiful facilities that we’re looking at right now.”
Keith Scruggs, Lendlease senior development manager, said the cost of the renovations to the Foulois House is at least $3 million, all of which were covered by Lendlease.
Scruggs said the renovations to the house took over a year to complete because contractors working for Lendlease came upon several structural and environmental issues that needed to be addressed and fixed.
“When you get into these historic renovations, a lot of times you come across things you didn’t know where there and you have to correct those,” Scruggs said.
Structural work and repairs included replacing and putting in new wood beams in the house’s attic, which potentially had termites or had deteriorated, and repairing or replacing rock that was cracked or crumbling on the sides of the front porch.
The new air conditioning and heating system will provide better comfort for guests who are staying at the Foulois House, replacing the old system which was not working properly and was inefficient, Scruggs said.
“It’s a high-efficiency system that is going to work very well, plus perform cost efficiently as well,” Scruggs said. “By putting a new (air conditioning and heating system) in, it’s going to obviously make them (guests) more comfortable.”
Upgrades in the bedroom suites include king-sized beds, replacing queen-sized ones, a living room in each suite that has a TV, and redone bathrooms that are user friendly with new fixtures.
Scruggs said a lot of the woodwork in the house was in great shape, but the stain in it had faded over the years. He said workers refinished and spruced up the wood, replaced carpeting, painted walls and took out lead-based paint.
In addition, the walls of the Foulois House are lined with copies of photos and prints of its namesake that were provided by the Fort Sam Houston Museum. The photos and prints portray moments in Foulois’ 37-year military career, including the first military flight at Fort Sam Houston.
“Our goal is to improve the experience of the service members, government travelers and all guests who make their way to Fort Sam Houston,” Scruggs said. “In keeping with our goal, we have renovated the Foulois House.”
In late November or early December, plans are for renovations to start on the Sam Houston House, another lodging facility operated by IHG Army Hotels at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston.