WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján announced today that the Air Force will award a project to Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC) to privatize the military family housing at Cannon Air Force Base (AFB) as part of the six-base Northern Group housing privatization project. The Air Force intends to close the deal on August 1, 2013.
At Cannon AFB, the Air Force will convey 763 homes to BBC and lease the underlying land of 368 acres for a period of 50 years. BBC will renovate 361 homes, demolish 402 homes and construct 677 new homes within 3.5 years. In addition, among other amenities, BBC will build a community center, tennis courts, volleyball courts, picnic areas, walking paths and other recreational facilities throughout the housing area.
"This project fills a critically important need at Cannon Air Force Base, and I'm very glad to see it move forward," said Udall. "The mission at Cannon is important for our national security, and as the base has grown, the need for increased housing has grown with it. This investment will go a long way toward reinforcing that Cannon is a great place to serve for airmen and their families and should be for years to come."
"Cannon Air Force Base provides a unique and special training environment for our military," said Heinrich. "As the base and personnel continue to grow, it is critical that affordable housing be available for our brave men and women in uniform and their families. I'm pleased to see this project move forward.
"Affordable housing has been too hard to find for many of our military personnel that are serving at Cannon Air Force Base," said Luján. "When the brave men and women who are serving our country come to Cannon, they should not have to worry about finding a home for their family. By moving forward with this project, the Air Force is taking an important step that will get us closer to that goal for our military families."
Besides Cannon AFB, the Northern Group also includes Cavalier Air Force Station, Grand Forks AFB and Minot AFB, ND; Ellsworth AFB, SD; and Mountain Home AFB, ID. The Air Force will convey 4,595 homes at the six installations, and lease the underlying land, approximately 2,010 acres, to the Project Owner for up to 50 years. Within the six-year initial development period, the Project Owner will construct 965 homes, demolish 1,014 homes, renovate 362 homes and accept 3,219 homes with no work required for an end state of 4,546 homes. Total development cost of the Northern Group project is $442 million.
BBC will provide all development, operations and maintenance, property management, construction, renovation, and demolition services. This is BBC's sixth Air Force housing privatization project.
The purpose of the Air Force's housing privatization program is to provide military families access to quality, affordable, well-maintained housing in a community on the installation where they may choose to live. To date, the Air Force has awarded 29 projects at 51 installations for a total of 43,992 end state homes or 82% of all Air Force housing within the Continental United States and territories.
