National
Army to begin new privatized housing project in Miami area
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army is starting its first new privatized housing project in 13 years near Miami, Florida. The new project, Cadence Communities LLC, will provide much-needed housing to service members who live in the high-cost, congested areas in the vicinity of U.S. Southern Command, which is headquartered in Doral, Florida.
“Since 2010 when SOUTHCOM’s current headquarters opened, service members stationed at U.S. Army Garrison-Miami have struggled to find adequate, affordable housing that was close to their duty station,” said Rachel Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment. “This new project will provide desperately needed quality housing for those stationed in Miami.”
Nearly 75 family housing units and 60 two-bedroom apartments for unaccompanied service members will be built on 51 acres of federal land that were recently transferred to the Army from the Federal Aviation Administration at no cost. Lendlease, a privatized housing company, will spend $110 million to construct the new housing.
The Army selected Lendlease to establish Cadence Communities through a long-term business relationship under the Military Housing Privatization Initiative.
In addition to U.S. Army Garrison-Miami, Cadence Communities will redevelop an existing 8.5-acre housing site at Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania, which will involve demolishing 26 old housing units and building 35 new ones.
Construction of 26 new family housing units is underway at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, and they will be transferred to Cadence Communities upon completion in June 2024.
Cadence Communities will also develop, operate and maintain existing military family housing at four other installations: Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois; the Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts; Fort Hunter Liggett, California; and Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Overall, 371 family housing units that are currently government-owned will be privatized.
“This new project will achieve the Army’s strategic housing goal to privatize the remaining housing inventory where feasible and support new housing construction to meet mission-critical housing requirements for service members,” Jacobson said.
The total Cadence Communities MHPI project across the seven installations will include 481 family housing units and 60 unaccompanied housing units upon completion of the initial development. Cadence Communities LLC will bring private-sector resources and market-based incentives to provide quality, affordable residential communities that are sustainable over time.
