The Army has awarded a private housing developer an initial contract to own and operate housing at the service's largest base in Fort Hood, Texas that could be worth as much $4 billion over the next 50 years.
The deal is among the largest housing privatization projects planned by the Defense Department.
On June 28, the Army announced Fort Hood Military Housing, a joint venture between Lend Lease Actus of Calif., and Trammel Crow Residential of Ga., had been selected to develop a community management plan for Fort Hood over the next six months.
If the Army accepts the plan, the developer will take over housing at Fort Hood and replace or renovate more than 5,000 housing units and build hundreds of new ones over the next five decades.
The Army's privatization plan, known as the Residential Community Initiative, utilizes contractors so the service can get out of the costly and time-consuming business of maintaining base housing. Under the deal, soldiers and their families will pay rent directly to the contractor.
Mahlon Apgar, assistant secretary of the Army for installations and environment, said the Army couldn't afford to make all necessary repairs and build new units without privation. Apgar said the United States has the "most efficient and effective housing industry in the world."
The Army is also privatizing base housing at Fort Carson, Colo., and Fort Meade, Md. Last fall, the Army hired J.A. Jones of Charlotte, N.C., to manage 2,663 units at Fort Carson and the service is currently accepting bids from contractors to oversee privatization at the Maryland base.
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