All in the Family

Newtown Square, Pa.-based Balfour Beatty Communities recently announced that financing has been secured for the Fort Jackson military family housing project in Columbia, S.C. The financing proceeds will be used for the design, development, and construction/renovation of an aggregate of 850 end-state housing units. The 50-year term of the project includes a five-year initial development period (IDP), with IDP costs of approximately $168 million. Niles Bolton and Associates, Atlanta, is the architectural and engineering firm for the project. Balfour Beatty Construction, Atlanta, will provide construction services.

On August 1, Balfour Beatty Communities began providing property management and maintenance services for the family housing when it entered into agreements with the Army, including a 50-year ground lease, for the purpose of owning and managing the housing inventory. In addition to management fees, with the completion of the project financing, the company will now be entitled to earn development and construction/renovation fees throughout the term of the project. Balfour Beatty Communities currently performs similar services for projects covering 42 other military installations/bases throughout the United States with the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Congressionally authorized in 1996, the Military Housing Privatization Initiative allows the Department of Defense and Military Services to work with the private sector to upgrade the quality of family housing and operate and maintain that housing. The family housing assets are typically leveraged with private investment to accomplish housing construction and renovation goals faster and at a lower cost than military construction.