Laughlin may cause local Del Rio real estate market to boom

October 16, 2006
By Bill Sontag
Feature Writer

Senior officers’ housing at Laughlin Air Force Base appears in good condition to those driving through the attractive residential areas. But upgrades in both size and quality may be in the offing here and throughout the housing areas when base housing privatization comes along next year. LIVE! photo/Bill Sontag (click image to enlarge)

The institutional relief of an Air Force-wide housing privatization initiative showed in the tone and demeanor of Col. Roger D. Thrasher, Sept. 27.

Thrasher, commander of the 47th Flying Training Wing Mission Support Group, and Roberta “Tinker” Valero, housing privatization project manager, described the nationwide private sector housing thrust as a response to deteriorating conditions of aging housing, contrasted with the needs of more, exacerbated by extraordinary funding demands to correct both situations.

A symbol of that scenario rolled onto the Laughlin flightline Wednesday with the arrival of two T-38C “Talon” training jets from Moody Air Force Base. The advance detachment for the base’s new mission for “Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals” (IFF), arriving at Laughlin in the spring of 2007, signaled the eventual transfer of nearly 400 military and civilian employees and their family members.

According to Thrasher, 38 percent of Air Force housing is rated as “substandard,” and with normal MILCON (federally appropriated military construction funding allocations) it would take 26 years to rectify the growing problem.

So, Air Force leadership decided the way out of this morass is to “privatize” the construction, maintenance and management of on-base housing. With 50-year leases, selected contactors would own the housing, including new residences built to accommodate growing demand and associated parks and open space within neighborhoods.

Existing houses will be conveyed in fee title to the contractor, and at the end of the 50-year period all the property would revert to Air Force ownership. Demolition of some homes is likely, Thrasher said, and schedules for that and for construction of replacement units will be up to the contractor/developer.

“The Air Force thinks this is a win-win situation,” Thrasher said, “because we’re getting quality housing much sooner than we could afford to provide it normally.”

The privatization initiative is divided, by bases in the Air Education and Training Command, into phases of implementation, and five other bases are included in this, the second phase within AETC. Those include Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., Goodfellow Air Force Base near San Angelo, Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Ala., Vance Air Force Base, Okla., and Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio.

Housing for enlisted personnel at Laughlin is aging faster than Air Force appropriations can catch up with repairs and reasonable upgrades. Duplexes and single family dwellings for Airmen will be targeted by a contractor/developer for improvement under a 50-year contract of ownership and maintenance. LIVE! photo/Bill Sontag (click image to enlarge)

The first phase of privatization is occurring at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Altus Air Force Base, Okla., and Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas.

Proposals from contractors seeking award for the rights to these developments are due to the AETC for review and selection in October, with awards announced in August, 2007, Thrasher said.

When selection is made for Laughlin’s housing areas, 516 units will be affected. The base currently has 534 units of housing. The difference of 18 units is accrued to Air Force policy directing the location of more families to off-base housing.

Due to the nature of their positions, many military members are required to live on base, and housing is selected for them, based in part on rank. Criteria are applied that impact design of the home, numbers of bedrooms and overall square footage, Thrasher explained.

A controversial village of trailer homes was recently removed, consistent with Air Force policy, he said, and the space may be used to build additional new housing to replace old units in advanced stages of disrepair. Fifty-four trailers were moved off base.

Military personnel coming to Laughlin – if not required to live on base – are provided a housing allowance, varying with rank. An E-1 (Airman Basic) with dependents is provided $525-per-month, and an O-6 (Colonel) receives $1,150 for the same period. Utility costs are built into these allocations, according to Thrasher.

When privatization occurs, all personnel – on- or off-base – will receive the monthly allocation. Those living on base will pay rent for their quarters out of the prevailing allocation rates, just as off-base residents do toward rent, lease or mortgages in civilian quarters now.

“So, it’s zero dollars out of pocket for everyone,” Thrasher said, explaining the privatized housing contractors will be required to take the prevailing allowance rates into account when they build, modify and set rental rates.

Thrasher said Laughlin can expect new and improved housing conditions when contractors take over, and the new units tend to be more energy efficient and environmentally-friendly. “We track all our energy usage very closely, and we track ‘green’ energy usage in particular.”

As an example, Thrasher said new unaccompanied officers’ quarters now under construction will benefit from geothermal energy acquired by deep drilling to sources for both heating and cooling.

Thrasher acknowledged that the influx of military and civilian personnel from Moody Air Force Base in connection with the new IFF mission here will mean a stronger real estate market in Del Rio. “There’s certainly an opportunity for the downtown [city-wide] real estate market to capture some of these new personnel,” Thrasher said.

In the mean time, when a contractor/developer is selected and timeframes are better understood, Thrasher will arrange “Town Hall” meetings on base to reveal proposals and information as available, offering ample opportunity for questions and answers.