New military family community almost ready for business Published April 10, 2009 By Lt. Col. Michael Beach 17th Civil Engineering Squadron GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- You may have noticed all of the construction on Paint Rock road northeast of the base, and on base south of the clinic. The Air Force is constructing 143 new housing units to support service men and women here at Goodfellow Air Force Base. These homes are being constructed as part of the Air Force wide implementation of housing privatization. Our new homes are being built by our privatization contractor and will provide a better quality of life for our military families. The new homes feature modern floor plans that are prewired throughout for phone, cable TV and internet service, as well as covered patios, modern appliances and garages with garage door openers. The community boasts a large community center with fitness facility, tennis and basketball courts, parks, playgrounds, jogging and walking trails, and a well-landscaped, pedestrian friendly site. Add to all of these amenities the fact that it is going to be close to base for easy access to work and other base facilities, and you'll be convinced that our new neighborhoods are going to be highly sought after. You have probably heard about housing privatization before, and you may have lived in privatized military communities before. However, each housing privatization project is tailored to the geographic area it serves, so our project may not exactly replicate what you might have seen at other bases. I have been monitoring the construction activities since they began and I am very pleased with the quality of work and attention to detail demonstrated by the construction crew. These homes are going to be top-notch residences for our servicemembers. Since I have been talking up how great our new neighborhoods are going to be, you may be thinking "this is just propaganda from the base civil engineer; he's saying this is great because he has to." If so, I commend you on your critical thinking skills and encourage you to find out for yourself how great our new"homes are going to be. In the coming weeks your CE squadron will be taking commanders, first sergeants, and select groups from the professional societies out to the construction site for a sneak peak at the new homes. In late May we expect to have a model home available for all personnel to walk through. These homes are so nice that I won't need to write any more articles about housing privatization! If you would like more information, you can find contact information and other updates on the web at http://goodfellow.pinnaclefamilyhousing.com/, you can call them at 655-0662, or stop in at the leasing office at 618A Mathis St. on base (it's in the Lanham housing area). Right now the website has all of the floor plans targeted for airmen basic through senior airmen; this is because those homes will be the first ones turned over by the construction crew. As the summer progresses, we will turn over homes targeted for the rest of the rank structure up to colonel. When we are getting closer to offering units in grades beyond the Airman tier, the website will be updated with additional floor plans. You can also stop in at the current Pinnacle offices and have a face-to-face discussion. Thanks again for all you do for Team Goodfellow; we are striving to provide the quality housing you deserve.