EGLIN HOUSING PRIVATIZATION PROJECT TIED TO MORE BASES

What does this mean? Well, in 2004 Eglin AFB, Hurlburt AFB, and Edward AFB, was identified as a site for the Military Housing Privatization Program. However, since this time the number of military housing units needed was drastically reduced. Thus making the contract of privatization not attractive enough to bid. The reason for this reduction, starts with the military's policy of owning or leasing military housing as a last resort. The desirable state in meeting the needs of military housing is to give military personnel their tax free housing allowance and have them either rent or own in the community. With this said, the military had to add more military bases to make it more profitable to bid on the contract. What does this mean again? Privatization will take a number of years to happen and the needs analysis for military housing was drastically reduced locally by over 1/2 of previous housing units. In fact in the last year, Eglin AFB has extra money and chose to destroy over half of the existing inventory of housing because it was substandard. This reduction was even considered with all the new additional military personnel (Army Post/Joint Strike Fighter) being transferred here. Remember, the military's policy to give the housing entitlement and make their own choices. So don't think the military will be building a bunch of housing and the need for the private sector be reduced. In fact, the pressure is on the private sector to meet this need NOW!!!! Oh, did I tell you, I was a Military Housing Director.

By MONA MOORE
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4443 mmoore@nwfdailynews.com  

EGLIN AFB — Eglin’s housing privatization is getting sweeter every year. In order to attract builders, the project has been bundled with four other locations. The privatization plan turns builders into landlords of the military housing, shifting the renovation, construction, operations and maintenance responsibilities of family housing to the private sector. Builders lease the land for the project. Eglin’s privatized housing was bundled with Hurlburt Field when first proposed in 2003. To improve the deal before its September 2010 offering, housing at Edwards AFB was added in 2006, Seymour Johnson AFB and McConnell in 2009 and Eielson AFB this year. For the price of building or improving housing at each location, the winning bid will collect rent from all military housing on the bases. The draft of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Military Housing Project Initiative was scheduled for release this summer, but has been pushed back to this fall. Eglin spokesman Mike Spaits said the EIS delay was not a result of the bidding process. “It just takes time,” Spaits said. “We want to make sure the analysis is complete, that it’s accurate. We’re not rushing it. We’re making sure that we have as much of the data and we understand what the data means before putting out the document.” The location of the future housing has not yet been determined. Several parcels of land are under consideration, including White Point, Eglin Main, Crestview (between Duke Field and Yellow River) and Mossy Head. Some residents opposed options outside Eglin Main at public scoping meetings last January. “We’re absolutely taking into account what people said and that’s for every EIS, for every environmental document that you compile,” Spaits said. “You take into consideration the comments you receive from the community and make sure that you take them all very seriously and we do.”