The facility is designed to improve on-post stays for service members and their families. It features 207 guest suites spanning more than 122,000 square feet.
The hotel was built under the Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) program, Centinel, and IHG, which assumed operations of Fort Bragg lodging in 2013. The mission of the PAL program is to provide quality hotels that enhance service members' quality of life.
Matthew Garrett, executive vice president at Centinel Public Partnerships and a retired Army captain, reflected on the project's personal significance.
"We're just really happy to be able to improve the quality of life in whatever small way we're able to here on Fort Bragg. It's a special place, obviously very important to the mission of the Army and the United States, and we just couldn't be more thrilled to open this," Garrett said.
Garrett, whose family has deep ties to Fort Bragg, added, "My father was born here. He's a retired major general. His father, my grandfather, is a retired colonel who retired as an airborne infantry officer here at Fort Bragg. I grew up as a child, as an Army brat, returning here to this area to visit my grandparents throughout the years. And so this just means a lot."
The new hotel was built with military families in mind, aiming to provide stability during periods of transition.
"It's just a tremendous source of pride for us because I can only imagine how nice it would have been growing up or then when I was active duty to be able to check into a place like this for my two or three week training class or in between purchasing from one base to the other and so we're just thrilled to be able to provide such a nice facility for folks to stay in," Garrett said.
The project also benefits the greater Fayetteville area by employing local civilians during and after construction.
Officials also provided updates on the ongoing renovation of Normandy Hall, a historic on-post lodging dating to the 1930s.
Virginia Helwig, former general manager of lodging, reminisced about her decades of service at Fort Bragg.
"I started in 1986, and we still had army blankets on the beds. So it was not a home away from home. It was a bunk away from home back in those days. And that was after the Vietnam era, OK," Helwig said.
She attended the ribbon-cutting for the new hotel and took a first look at the improvements.
The new Candlewood Suites is built with cross-laminated timber for maximum strength and stability.
"When you're moving as a military family, as speaking from the child's perspective, it's there's a lot of upheaval. I would much prefer as active duty or a dependent to stay in an on-base situation like this," Garrett said.
Normandy Hall's renovation will add 15 modern suites and a fitness center while preserving its historic character.
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David Dentino, deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Housing & Partnerships, U.S. Army involved, announced, "We're proud to set aside a suite at Normandy house during our renovation that is the Helwig suite."
Helwig expressed gratitude for the honor.
"I am very honored. It's a lifelong honor for a lifelong commitment. I mean, you just immersed yourself into your work, and now, the soldiers, the families, the military, that's what really generates everything," Helwig said.
Helwig also noted that the recognition extends to her mother, who once managed Normandy Hall, continuing a legacy of caring for service members and their families.
The Normandy Hall is expected to be completed by fall.