Housing privatization at Shaw Published June 2, 2006 By Senior Airman Susan Penning 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- For the past few years, Shaw members have eagerly awaited new or renovated base housing units. So, why haven’t any new houses been built yet? According to Andy Bigelow, Shaw’s housing privatization manager, the base was in the process of selecting a contractor for new base housing in 2004 when the project suffered a bit of a setback. “At that time, a significant increase in basic allowance for housing coupled with low mortgage interest rates caused many military families to choose to live off base,” Mr. Bigelow said. “The number of people living on base dropped dramatically. Shaw went from having about 90 percent occupancy in 2003 to only about 60 percent, its current rate.” The drop in on-base occupancy made it financially unfeasible for any civilian contractor to take on the project at that time, so the base was forced to go back to the drawing board and rework the project to make it financially possible. In the meantime, a request for money was submitted to Air Combat Command to demolish some of Shaw’s oldest existing housing units in an effort to help lower maintenance costs. The request was approved and 180 units, most built during the early 1950s, are currently being demolished. As far as building new units, Mr. Bigelow said the base is about a year or two away from breaking ground. The Air Force is currently looking at combining the housing privatization contracts of two or more bases, he said. This would be more attractive to potential developers because a base with housing units that need little or no initial renovation could be combined with a base, such as Shaw, that has a significant initial cost to remodel or build new units. This allows the contractor to use the income stream from the first base to assist in the second base’s construction or modernization. “Quality of life is still our main objective. Here at Shaw, we know we don’t need as many housing units as we had before, so we started demolishing some. We also know it is time to make the housing we have better. We’ll continue to work to make modernization a reality,” said Col. Bill Hyatt, 20th Fighter Wing commander. When a privatization contract is awarded, the Air Force will require the builder to adhere to local building codes. Homes will be inspected to ensure the quality of units being built or renovated. Housing and neighborhood development requirements in addition to other guidelines the builder must follow will be outlined in the contract, said Mr. Bigelow. “We want the builder to match what’s being built in the community,” he said. The bottom line is this: The government wants to focus its energy on defending freedom, not maintaining housing units. That is why there will continue to be a push to privatize. In his fiscal year 2006 budget testimony, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the DOD will continue the extensive use of privatization to improve military housing and get maximum benefit from its housing budget.