At Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, housing development continues to move forward at a rapid pace. After just a year under construction, 198 homes in the Thrower Park housing area were completed and assigned to personnel in June, with an additional 78 to follow. These homes represent the initial group of more than 1,000 military family housing units being built under a $287.4 million contract to replace homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
The Thrower Park site has added 198 junior noncommissioned officer family units to the base’s housing inventory. Since the completion of Thrower Park, customer feedback has been outstanding. Residents have commented on the large amount of space in their homes, which is up to 1,900 square feet of living space with extra storage space and garages.
The next two construction sites, West Falcon and Shadowlawn-Maltby Hall, include 136 noncommissioned officer and 200 mixed-use units, respectively. A second phase at the Falcon site adds 364 more NCO units that are expected to be completed in 2009. The Bay Ridge site will deliver 130 senior NCO and senior officer units, to be finished in early 2010.
The Keesler project is considered the largest of its kind in Air Force history. Once the project is complete, Keesler will be the proud owner of the newest – and among the best – housing in the Air Force.
Richard Fry, project manager, said the Air Force Center for Engineering Excellence incorporated industry-wide construction practices used in commercial housing developments to rebuild the entire Keesler housing inventory, including roads, utilities and amenities.
Bob Moore, Air Force deputy chief of asset management and operations, noted the way the project has been managed is becoming known as the “Keesler Model,” which he believes sets the standard for acquisition of all future military construction projects.
After the design concept was complete, AFCEE contractors were asked in an open forum to review all the preliminary work done to date and come up with innovative ideas for the massive project.
“The exchange was outstanding and in a matter of weeks a request for proposal was released, allowing the interested contractors to create their own solutions to a constrained construction schedule, and encouraging them to propose enhancements commonly used in commercial housing,” said Mr. Fry.
As a result, AFCEE was able to reduce the acquisition time, and the project is on schedule and on budget. Hunt Building Construction of El Paso, Texas was awarded the contract to rebuild all Keesler military family housing in a five-site, 43-month effort. Hunt-Yates is doing the demolition, site preparation and utility work at all the sites.
