Unfinished work exemplifies housing fiasco

[unhappycamper]

Unfinished work exemplifies housing fiasco
By R. Norman Moody - Florida Today
Posted : Sunday Dec 2, 2007 8:25:55 EST

SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. — A chain link fence marks off a “Hard Hat Area-No Trespassing” zone. But there are few signs of construction under way at Pelican Coast.

Bushes have sprouted up inside the fence where Air Force families were supposed to live in this proposed $150 million community development of 552 houses announced in 2003. The houses were to replace dilapidated, 1950s-era units that had leaky faucets, malfunctioning electrical systems and sewers that backed up.

However, only 163 of the houses — less than 30 percent planned for the development — have been built, and construction has been halted. Subcontractors have been left unpaid or with worthless contracts, the city of Satellite Beach is trying to collect taxes or payment for services it provides and the contractor, Dallas-based American Eagle Communities, is trying to sell the project.

Similar problems have been encountered with community developments at at least three other military bases, leading U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., earlier this week to call for legislation that would tighten Pentagon control over housing privatization projects and hold contractors more accountable after the problems at Patrick, Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas and Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.

Pelican Coast, the Patrick Air Force Base housing privatization project, came to a halt after bondholders refused to disburse money when American Eagle Communities — made up of CEI Investment Corp. and Shaw Infrastructure — had substantial cost overruns.

“We stopped construction after phase one,” Thomas Swain, director of privatization for American Eagle, said in an interview this week. “The bondholders were not funding further construction.”


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/12/airforce_florida_housing_071202w/



uhc comment: Previous threads on privatized military housing -->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=6116
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=6163
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=7510

[sam sarrha]

1. and the Bu$h Crony's will buy it up for 2 cents on the dollar ..>Link>>

http://www.bushwatch.com/bushmillions.html

[unhappycamper]

2. It appears American-Eagle needs to update their web site:

http://www.american-eagle.cc/patrick_info.html

Patrick Air Force Base

As the Air Force contractor at Patrick AFB, American Eagle Communities will plan, design, develop, and construct a new master planned community, The Pelican Coast. The new community will have 552 homes for Air Force personnel, 419 single-family homes and approximately 400 homes for non-military personnel. American Eagle will own, operate, and maintain the homes for a period of 50 years. In addition to the new homes, a new community center will be constructed along with four neighborhood clubhouses. Currently, renovations are underway and new construction will begin in the Spring of 2005.

Patrick AFB, home to the U.S. Air Force Space Command’s 45th Space Wing, is located on Florida’s east central coast just south of the City of Cocoa Beach. The installation is situated on a barrier island with shorelines along the Banana River on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Patrick AFB is the home of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Tenant command responsibilities include monitoring multiple space launch support contracts with an estimated value in excess of $100 million, as well as the management of facility repair/maintenance and utilization, and the security and environmental protection for the Cape.


http://www.american-eagle.cc/littlerock_info.html

Little Rock Air Force Base

American Eagle Communities is pleased to be the selected contractor at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas. American Eagle plans to build 468 new homes and remodel 732 previously renovated homes to provide flexible living spaces and state-of-the-art amenities to all residents. The initial construction and redevelopment period is 6 years, with work beginning in January 2005.

Little Rock AFB opened in October 1955 and consists of more than 6,000 acres and one runway. The base population of nearly 11,400 people includes active-duty military and civilian members and their families who live or work here. Little Rock AFB is the home of the 314th Airlift Wing, which trains all C-130 crew members from all branches of the U.S. armed services, the U.S. Coast Guard and students from 27 allied nations. The 314th is supported by 189th Airlift Wing and the 463rd Airlift Group.

The family housing demand at Little Rock AFB is 2,965 units, with 719 units being provided privately and 1,535 units provided by military family housing, leaving a rental demand of 711 units. Almost 72% of Little Rock AFB’s 4,361 assigned personnel are accompanied by their families. Currently, enlisted personnel comprise 85% of the base’s total authorized strength and approximately 52% of military families reside in government housing on base, with the remaining 48% living in the surrounding community. American Eagle will provide quality management for the 1,200-unit housing community for a lease period of 50 years.