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2019
Mar. 27, 2019

Balfour Beatty Communities’ Collaborative Building Program Breathes Fresh Air into Military Housing Projects

Balfour Beatty Communities’ Collaborative Building Program Breathes Fresh Air into Military Housing Projects

Balfour Beatty Communities announced today that is has rolled out a unique Collaborative Building program, where military residents provide insights and feedback throughout the development of new base construction projects to help ensure home layout, amenities and aesthetics align with the vision and real world needs of today’s military families. The program has been successfully implemented at Cannon Family Homes (N.M.), where Balfour Beatty Communities recently completed the delivery of 677 new homes and renovations on another 359 homes based on the direct input of residents there as well as at Fort Carson Family Homes.  The initiative is the latest effort from Balfour Beatty Communities to use new techniques and programs to help improve the living experience for military families in the communities they build and manage.  

“Our mission is to provide housing military residents want to live in, not have to live in, and giving them a voice in the development process helps us achieve that,” said Mark Lavin, senior vice president of project management and development for Balfour Beatty Communities. “The collaborative building approach gives our residents the opportunity to tell us what they’re looking for in new developments and constructions, as well as the indoor and outdoor amenities they need most to enhance their living experience.” 

The program consists of seven to ten community members who act as liaisons between residents and Balfour Beatty Communities leadership to provide insights and feedback on new developments and amenities that cater to resident needs.  Residents are given the opportunity to provide input at key points in the process from design through the completion of construction. At Cannon Family Homes, resident input led to a number of updates to the design and features of the homes and the surrounding communities. Some of the features included updated kitchen appliances, additional storage inside the homes and additional outdoor amenities such as dog stations and path lighting installations.

Cannon Family Homes is a gated residential community leasing exclusively to active duty Air Force families stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico. Balfour Beatty Communities took over the operation and management of family housing here in 2013 from the Air Force. There is a total of 1,038 total homes at the base that offer a wide variety of two, three and four-bedroom floor plans featuring updated finishes, ample storage space and fully equipped kitchens, patios and garages. Cannon Family Homes residents also enjoy the community’s playgrounds, sport courts and fields, a pool, and access to the communities’ facilities and amenities. 

The program and the homes built as a result have received overwhelmingly strong response from residents at Cannon Family Homes.  Given the success at Cannon and Fort Carson, Balfour Beatty Communities is looking for additional opportunities to implement the program on both new construction and renovations at other communities throughout the country. 

In 1996, Congress established the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) to improve the condition of housing for military service members by forging partnerships with experienced private-sector leaders in the housing industry to expand and update the military housing portfolio. As a leading MHPI partner, Balfour Beatty Communities is committed to developing programs at several military housing locations throughout the U.S. to further improve the quality of life for its residents.   

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2019
Mar. 01, 2019

Restoration plan for hurricane-hit housing at Tyndall Air Force Base in approval stage

Restoration plan for hurricane-hit housing at Tyndall Air Force Base in approval stage

Officials with Balfour Beatty Communities recently announced that a comprehensive plan to restore military family housing at Tyndall Air Force Base has been submitted to both the Air Force and the senior lender for the project for approval. If these parties consent to the multi-phase plan, restored homes could be available as early as this coming fall. The comprehensive housing community restoration project is expected to take approximately two years.  

As a result of Hurricane Michael’s devastation, all of the 867 family homes located on 500 acres at Tyndall Air Force Base were significantly damaged or destroyed. Neighborhoods like Bay View and Beacon Beach, which are comprised of older homes and are located just along the water outside of the main gate on highway 98, were particularly hard hit. While other neighborhoods in the community fared better, there was significant damage to roofs, windows and siding throughout, which left interiors vulnerable to water intrusion. As a result, comprehensive restoration work is needed, to include walls, flooring and HVAC systems.  All of the homes to be restored will require a total interior demolition and remediation before the interior restoration can begin. 

Balfour Beatty Communities has been partnering with both the Air Force and the senior lender on the project in working toward a strategic plan for Tyndall AFB Homes that goes beyond restoration and will focus on rebuilding a smarter, more connected community. The company is currently working with national partners to invest in new fiber optic infrastructure and improved cellular coverage, as well as smart home technology as part of the planned upgrades. All homes will also be fully updated according to local codes for new residential construction.

“While Hurricane Michael brought widespread destruction to the Tyndall AFB Homes community, it also brought opportunity,” said Mark Lavin, senior vice president, Balfour Beatty Communities. “Our team, the Air Force and others have been able to completely reevaluate the housing needs of today’s Airmen stationed at Tyndall and develop a restoration plan that will deliver a more modern and resilient community that more directly supports how these military families live and is better able to withstand future storm impacts.”

Balfour Beatty Communities teams have been actively engaged in stabilization and restoration efforts at Tyndall since the hurricane struck. To date, all homes that will be recovered have had the building envelope completely sealed, which includes tarping, securing roofs and windows, and ‘drying out’ all interior spaces. Other efforts currently underway include roof repair/replacement and interior demolition work that will pave the way for full restoration. In early January, the team also started soliciting bids from restoration subcontractors, including multiple rounds of site visits with interested/qualified parties. 

“We have an important mission to accomplish at Tyndall Air Force Base,” continued Lavin. “Our team is committed to continuing to guide all stakeholders through the complex process of developing, funding and executing a construction project of this size and scale. We look forward to welcoming military families back to a new and improved Tyndall AFB Homes as soon as we possibly can.”

Balfour Beatty Communities’ Military Housing division is in a 50-year partnership created with the Department of the Air Force through the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI). As one of the leading partners in MPHI and a premier military housing developer, Balfour Beatty Communities owns and manages more than 43,000 homes across 55 Army, Navy and Air Force installations throughout the United States.   

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