Fort Carson soldiers to move into privatized housing

In the near future, members of the Army in Fort Carson, Colo. will for the first time move into new or renovated housing units built and maintained by a private contractor.

The first privatized military family housing project for the Army began officially on Nov. 23.

The military services can hire private contractors to build and manage housing under a 1996 law designed to speed up military housing construction and refurbishing projects.

The Defense Department first selected Fort Carson as a candidate for housing privatization in June 1996. But the proposed award was canceled because of a bid protest.

This time there was no such glitch. "We've closed the deal," said Ann McGough, spokeswoman for Charlotte, N.C.-based J.A. Jones, the firm that was awarded the contract.

The project will encompass a total of 2,663 units, 840 of which are new. The remaining units are existing ones that will be renovated. The 60-month construction and renovation contract is valued at more than $220 million. A separate 50-year operations and maintenance contract is also part of the deal, McGough said, but the company does not have an estimated cost for those services.

Soldiers and their families will pay rent to J.A. Jones as part of the operations and maintenance contract.

Fort Carson was recognized in this year's President's Quality Award Program for its wide-ranging quality improvement effort, including privatization of all current and future housing.