RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Pinnacle-Hunt Communities, LLC, assumes all management responsibilities for on-base housing on Randolph Monday, as a result of the successful closing of the Housing Privatization Initiative.
The Pinnacle-Hunt Welcome Center, 659-9061, is located in Building 1004, Apt. C, on CC Street East. Office hours for the center are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Randolph Family Housing Office duties have been realigned. Housing Referral/Asset Management Flight functions will primarily focus on partnership with and oversight of PHC. Off-base housing referral services and assistance with on-base housing inquiries will continue to be available through the Housing Asset Management Flight at 652-1840. Customer Assistance lobby hours will remain 7:30 a.m. through 3 p.m.
As the selected housing developer for the Air Education and Training Command Group II Housing Privati-zation program, Pinnacle-Hunt will take charge of the design, construction, renovation, maintenance and management of 2,199 units at six air force bases, including Randolph.
Under the terms of its 50-year agreement with the Air Force, Pinnacle-Hunt will build 420 new units, renovate nearly 1,300 units, and provide maintenance and management of about 500 units that require no renovation, said Garrett Smith, AETC Group II project manager at the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence at Brooks-City Base. The project also involves demolition of more than 720 units that are excess to AETC's needs.
The demolition, construction and renovation projects should begin within six months and will be completed by March 2011, Mr. Smith said. Each base has a construction manager who will communicate project timelines with the local base community to keep residents informed of the activities that will affect them. Projects will be conducted in phases to minimize disruption.
"Housing privatization provides our Airmen and their families with the best housing possible in these times of leaner construction budgets and limited resources," said Gen. William Looney, AETC commander. "This quality of life initiative guarantees we'll be able to house our families in comfortable, well-maintained homes for years to come."
The general said the command will receive a return of about $4 in value from Pinnacle-Hunt for every $1 the Air Force invests. Military construction projects can't match that value.
"Privatization offers the best way forward in terms of the quantity and quality of housing we can offer our Airmen," General Looney said. "We'd like to be able to build new housing units for all of our Airmen and their families, but fiscal constraints do not allow that option."
The transition to Pinnacle-Hunt housing management should be seamless for most base housing residents.
"Under the program, residents sign a lease with the housing developer similar to landlord-tenant agreements," said Col. Mark Pohlmeier, AETC civil engineer. "Every basic allowance for housing dollar goes directly back into the housing project to ensure residents receive quality housing and services for the next 50 years."
A key aspect of housing privatization is the "lock box" that sets aside part of the rent, in the form of members' BAH, for scheduled and reoccurring maintenance and recapitalization of the housing, Colonel Pohlmeier added.
Congress established the Military Housing Privatization Initiative in 1996 as a tool to help the military improve the quality of life for its service members by improving the condition of their housing.