Posts Tagged ‘defense real estate’

Hunt Development, the developer of privatized family housing at Scott Air Force Base, is fighting efforts by the Illinois General Assembly to make the El Paso-based firm responsible for annual property taxes. “We have two big issues with what the state legislature is considering,” Hunt Development Executive Vice President Robin Vaughn told the Belleville News-Democrat. “The Illinois Department of Revenue has concluded that the project is a license through a government agency and that it’s not taxable …

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday rejected the House plan to replace the first year’s portion of the automatic spending cuts with a package of reductions in domestic programs, saying a “balanced approach” that includes tax revenue is needed to avert the budget sequester. The leverage provided by the threat of government-wide spending cuts is needed if the two parties are to reach a deal before the end of the year on taxes and deficit reduction, Reid said …

WinnResidential Military Housing Services, the property management partner of Lend Lease (U.S.) Public Partnerships, has received the 2011 superior satisfaction company award for superior performance in a nationally recognized resident satisfaction program. WinnResidential received a superior rating with an overall score of 4.25 out of 5.0 in six primary categories — pre renewal, move in, work (service) order, move out, wait list, and point of service — from SatisFacts Insite® …

Housing officials at Patrick AFB have succeeded in filling most of the base’s vacant homes after opening the units to military retirees and the general public. Currently 94 percent of the homes at the installation located on Florida’s Space Coast are occupied, with 38 percent of the units occupied by retirees, reports Florida Today. At one point, 230 out of 453 homes were vacant, primarily due to the depressed real estate market and economy, and the loss of two Air Force units. The Air Force agreed to the request of Hunt Military Communities, which owns and manages the Patrick housing, to rent the homes to non-active-duty personnel and civilians. There are only 9 units occupied by the general public, a number that likely won’t climb much higher as the base housing will be closed to civilians once occupancy reaches 95 percent.

Because of multiple challenges over the past six years in moving forward with redevelopment of the Broadway Complex, the Navy should consider moving its headquarters facility elsewhere in the San Diego metropolitan area, according to report language accompanying the House version of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill. The Navy reached an agreement with a local developer in 2006 to build it new offices in exchange for a 99-year lease to develop the waterfront property, meeting a deadline imposed by the 2005 BRAC Commission for avoiding closure of the site …

Despite its apparent lack of interest in discussing the possibility of additional base closure rounds, the House Armed Services’ Readiness Subcommittee is sufficiently curious as to how long-term commitments the services have made in conjunction with defense real estate projects would be affected by future closures that it requests GAO to study the issue. The panel’s request to GAO to look at the impact of base closures on alternatively financed projects is included in the report language accompanying its section of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill …

East Greenwich, R.I.-based Picerne Military Housing was awarded the number one resident satisfaction ranking for portfolios with at least 10,000 homes based on a 2011 survey of residents served by nearly 150 property management firms. The 2011 survey marks the fourth time the company has earned the number one resident satisfaction ranking for portfolios with at least 10,000 homes …

Newton Square, Pa.-based Balfour Beatty Communities was recognized for its commitment to energy efficiency by Fort Bliss as part of its 2012 Earth Day Awards for environmental and energy excellence. The Balfour Beatty Communities team was recognized for energy efficiency improvements made to both new and existing homes at the El Paso, Texas, post in 2011, as well as for its work in implementing the Live Army Green program, a DOD initiative that encourages energy conservation by residents …

Legislation that would rely on the Office of Management and Budget to oversee the disposal of thousands of excess federal buildings could start advancing in the Senate next month. Sen. Tom Carper is planning to mark up S. 2178 in the subcommittee he chairs, the Federal Financial Management Subcommittee of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee …

Defense officials take into account multiple factors in selecting a particular financing approach for a renewable energy project, including the length of time to obtain funding, cost of financing, who pays to operate and maintain the project and availability of funding, the Government Accountability Office learned after interviewing officials at the Pentagon, military services’ headquarters, installations and the Energy Department …