Navy Selects Firm to Negotiate for Largest Family Housing Privatization Project

The Department of the Navy selected GMH Communities Trust on Feb. 26 to enter into exclusive negotiations for the design, construction, management, and maintenance of affordable, quality military family housing at 11 Navy bases in five Southeast states. The initiative is one of the largest public/private venture (PPV) housing initiatives to date. The 50-year term of the project will begin with a six-year Initial Development Period (IDP) valued at approximately $772 million.

"This project is one of the most ambitious public/private ventures undertaken for Navy families,” said Scott Forrest, director, Special Venture Acquisition, Naval Facilities Engineering Command. “It represents the Navy's dedication, commitment and excitement in providing high-quality, affordable housing for military families. We look forward to closing with GMH this fall and appreciate everyone who is making it happen."

The specific Navy Southeast Project family housing locations include: Naval Weapons Station, Charleston, S.C.; Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Ga.; Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fla.; Naval Station Mayport, Fla.; Naval Air Station, Key West, Fla.; Naval Support Activity Panama City, Fla.; Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.; Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla.; Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Miss.; Naval Air Station, Meridian, Miss.; and Naval Air Station, Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, Section 2801, provides a series of powerful authorities that allows military services to enter into long-term agreements with private industry to design, finance, construct, own, operate, maintain and professionally manage public/private housing ventures.

From Naval Facilities Engineering Command Public Affairs