SHAW FAMILY HOUSING OFFICIALLY PRIVATIZED Published Sept. 30, 2011 By 040911 SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Family housing on Shaw AFB will officially be turned over to Forest City Military Communities, Sept. 30 at 11:59 p.m.Under the deal, the FCMC will lease up to 306 acres of land from the Air Force as part of a 50-year agreement.Shaw AFB housing residents started signing new leases with FCMC in July 2011. Today marks the official changeover to FCMC and starts the first phase of tear-down and construction.The first phase includes building 192 and community amenities and is scheduled for completion in June 2012. Overall, FCMC plans to demolish 680 existing housing units and plans to build 630 homes. The estimated completion date for the project is 2015."We are very proud to announce that after nearly a decade of work, Housing Privatization has come to Shaw Air Force Base," said Col. Charlie Moore, 20th Fighter Wing commander. "This great initiative will allow us to build 630 new homes on the installation. But more importantly, it will allow us to build a thriving community where our Airmen and Soldiers can raise their families in a secure, convenient and state of the art neighborhood."Housing privatization shifts the operations and maintenance responsibility of family housing to the private sector whose expertise is to build and manage housing, allowing Airmen and Soldiers to focus on the military mission.The housing is comparable to what is found off-base, while retaining a sense of military community.The new homes will be rank-based three and four bedroom homes with two-car garages.-30- For more information please contact Forest City at 803-499-3074 or www.fcshawafb.com or Shaw Public Affairs, 1st Lt. Ann Blodzinski at 803-895-2014 or ann.blodzinski@shaw.af.mil.