EGLIN BEGINS MILITARY PRIVATIZATION HOUSING PROJECT

As noted earlier, the Air Force is making a conscientious effort to reduce the supply of government housing for a variety of reasons and with hopes the local community would be able to meet the needs of our military families. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give me a call. Basically, Demand is going up and supply is going down.



Privatized military housing in works
By MONA MOORE monam@nwfdailynews.com

Privatized military family housing will likely be built within the gates of Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field. The only question now is where. In its third draft of the Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the Air Force suggested three alternatives: • Build up to 1,214 new military family housing units on a parcel of land that includes Old Plew and New Plew housing and an undeveloped area on Eglin’s main base. • In addition to homes in the Old Plew and New Plew housing area, build 320 new units where the existing Capehart/Wherry housing units are and in undeveloped land around Ben’s Lake. • Continue to manage and maintain existing housing. “All of the alternatives have to be weighed equally,” said Eglin environmental spokesman Mike Spaits. According to a press release from Eglin’s 96th Civil Engineering Group, the main difference between the current draft and the previous two is that all of the housing will be within the gates of Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field. Also, the total number of housing units has been reduced. The project will include 1,340 family units at Eglin and 484 units at Hurlburt. Of the 1,824 units, 1,228 units will be new construction. “We need to get them the best quality housing we possibly can,” said Kathy Lawhon, Eglin’s housing flight chief. According to the DEIS, about 60 percent of DoD units need to be renovated or replaced. At Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field, approximately 76 percent of housing units are more than 30 years old and do not meet current Air Force housing standards. The Air Force estimates the costs to renovate or replace the housing units to be $18.1 million for Hurlburt Field and $144 million for Eglin AFB. The military housing privatization project has taken years to develop. “This is a long-range plan, not a quick fix,” said Lawhon. Spaits said the project has been prolonged by a number of factors. “Hurricane Ivan came,” he said. “After that, we had a slew of construction going on.” The real estate bubble, increasing construction and insurance costs have also had an effect on the project. Throughout the process, the Air Force has welcomed comments from the public and taken them under consideration. Earlier drafts of the EIS were released in 2005 and 2006 and underwent public hearings. Since that time, Spaits said, the Air Force has considered the public comments and reevaluated the Proposed Action. The DEIS released this month is the first to exclude the controversial Camp Pinchot and Poquito Bayou options. The Camp Pinchot and Poquito Bayou sites were dropped because of the growing cost to build new roads and add utilities to the undeveloped Air Force land. The 2005 draft included the demolition of the Camp Pinchot Historic District. The 2006 DEIS saved the district but raised protests of the environmental impact to the Garnier Bayou. The new DEIS is also the first to exclude Eglin’s favorite alternative. “We don’t have a preferred alternative,” Spaits said. In the final EIS, Eglin will voice a preferred alternative based on the “information we get at the hearings and any additional data we get before the final EIS.” The latest DEIS is available for public review and comment online and at libraries in Mary Esther, Navarre, Shalimar, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach and Valparaiso. Spaits said a hearing will be held in late August or early September. “I feel confident this draft and hearing should be the last efforts,” he said. “We’ve gone through some fairly significant events in Northwest Florida that have driven these changes and I’m confident we’re ready to move forward.” The EIS is a requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act. It requires all federal agencies to determine the environmental consequences of proposed projects and alternatives. The Air Force plans to sign with a developer by April of 2009. In exchange for a 50-year land lease from the Air Force, the contractor selected would collect and keep rents. So far, Eglin has published a statement of need to estimate the costs of the project. No construction can start until the NEPA approves the EIS.