Base housing town hall addresses progress

  • Published
  • By Tyler Hemstreet
  • Staff writer
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Base leaders, Equity Residential representatives and base housing residents gathered Jan. 28 at Heartwood Elementary School here to discuss progress of the housing privatization project.

More than 40 residents participated in a question and answer session with Col. Jeffrey Stephenson, 62nd Airlift Wing commander, and Col. Cynthia Murphy, Fort Lewis garrison commander.

The forum served as an opportunity for residents to foster a sense of community and voice their concerns as the neighborhood evolves, said Donna Dahlstrom, 62nd Civil Engineer Squadron housing asset manager.

"With the onset of the construction it is exciting to experience first-hand the vision of a new neighborhood and the long term benefit our families will gain," Ms. Dahlstrom said.

Details of the housing plan include demolishing 590 housing units, constructing 250 new homes and renovating 268 existing housing units over the next eight years. The newly developed neighborhood will include 90 existing Olympic Grove homes with a total end state of 608 homes. The construction standards for the new houses call for larger living space, an attached two-car garage, double-wide driveways and covered patios.

Speakers gave progress updates concerning timelines for demolition and renovation of various housing areas. Equity Residential is currently in the process of salvaging items from unoccupied houses and preparing them for environmentally smart demolition.

Demolition is scheduled to start toward the end of the month or in early March, said Cal Lovering, 62nd CES housing privatization project support contractor.

During this time residents can expect an increase in traffic volumes brought on by the project, he said.

Equity Residential representatives also provided updates on their newly implemented policies that included use of existing fire extinguishers, new restrictions on selected dog breeds that will affect future residents, safety awareness (relating to parking and speeding) and the transition to cluster mailboxes.

More town hall meetings will be scheduled in the future to inform residents as the project moves into later stages.