First new Bay Ridge homes occupied

Published Nov. 13, 2008
By Staff Sgt. Tanya Holditch
Keesler Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISS. -- The completion of 34 Bay Ridge homes marks a new phase in Keesler's rebuilding effort after Hurricane Katrina left base housing in shambles.

Currently more than 350 of the 1,028 new homes have been turned over to the base housing office. The Bay Ridge neighborhood will have 181 homes when construction is complete.

Moves into the new Bay Ridge homes began in late October. Moving continues through December, with no forced moves from Dec. 10 through Jan. 6.

Those designated to move will be contacted by the housing office to pick up their Air Force Form 150. Movers must take the form to the traffic management office to arrange a contracted move or they can move themselves. For do-it-yourself moves, weight tickets of the moving truck both full and empty must be presented to TMO for reimbursement.

The new homes are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver-certified homes. Silver is the third tier of four in LEED rating categories, with platinum being the highest rating.

For a green home to become LEED certified, it must be inspected by an independent third party, who rates its performance in such categories as the home's indoor air quality, energy efficiency, the use of water-conserving plumbing, the durability of its building materials and the sustainability of the building site. Credit for LEED certification also considers whether there are open spaces to encourage walking and other outdoor activities that lead to better overall health for its residents.

Houses are built to survive hurricane conditions. Thrower Park's new homes made it through Hurricane Gustav with no reported damage.

Windows can withstand a basic wind speed of 140 mph, while a specially-designed system of galvanized aircraft wire rope connects to key places on the house's structure to protect its integrity during high-force winds. Houses are also built above the FEMA flood plain, so they aren't prone to flooding when storms cause waters to rise along the coast.

The first set of keys to a Bay Ridge home was handed over to the tenant Oct. 27, putting Keesler in the third of six phases in the largest housing project in Air Force history.

"This is only going to keep getting better," said Mr. Brett Long, facilities chief of military family housing. "As we transition from old housing to new housing, the new houses fill up, but we accept new houses from the contractor daily. As we prepare to build new houses, we demolish the old."

On average, the builder turns over more than 2½ houses each day to the housing office.

The last of the old single-story Pinehaven houses, built in 1951, came down Oct. 30. South Pinehaven houses are scheduled to be demolished with tenants to begin relocation by July 2009, according to Michael Reese, housing flight chief.

The first houses in Southwest and East Falcon Park, which can be seen under construction from Pass Road, are scheduled to be completed as early as February, with final completion scheduled for the summer of 2009.

The current wait at Keesler for one of the new houses is 30-90 days depending on the pay grade and family make-up of the military member, according to Mr. Reese. The wait can be a little longer for four-bedroom houses, he said.

For more information, call the housing office, 376-8611. For housing maintenance or repair, call 377-5561.