Moody commander shares concerns over housing issues

Published 10:31 pm Saturday, August 25, 2007

For the past several months, the Magnolia Grove privatized housing project here has faced repeated setbacks. The Air Force’s privatized housing initiative is designed to accelerate the service’s ability to provide its families with safe, quality, affordable and well-maintained housing at an investment level that is much less than traditional military construction projects. Unfortunately, this has not been the case here at Moody Air Force Base.

As an Air Force-mandated privatized development, the developer, American Eagle Communities, LLC, retained sole responsibility to finance, plan, construct and manage the project. This also included purchasing the land for the new housing, which is adjacent to the base, as well as maintaining the 303 houses in Moody’s current Quiet Pines neighborhood.

Consequently, the current issues that have caused work stoppage rest solely between American Eagle, the bond-holders who are funding the project and the contractors hired to build the housing area. The Air Force and Moody Air Force Base have no legally binding agreements with any of the construction contractors. While there may be little recourse the base can take to quickly restart the project, we continually provide information and assistance to all parties involved to try the push the process along. I personally am working with officials at all levels of government and the Department of Defense to raise awareness of Magnolia Grove’s current situation.

I am deeply concerned with the lack of progress being made on the housing project. American Eagle originally agreed to construct 383 homes in Magnolia Grove by the end of next month. Today, there are no homes ready for my Airmen and their families to move into. These homes are vital to the continued mission success of Moody Air Force Base. The base is seeing our population increase by approximately 1,000 Airmen and their families in the next year as we continue to welcome members of the 23rd Fighter Group from Pope Air Force Base, N.C. No one deserves these homes more than the warrior Airmen of the 23rd Wing and I will do everything in my power to ensure this occurs as quickly as possible.

Additionally, I am concerned for the local subcontractors who have not been compensated for their work at Magnolia Grove. No other base in the Air Force has the same type of relationship Moody maintains with our local community. The support we receive from the community is simply irreplaceable. It is imperative these companies be justly compensated for their time, materials and labor they have already invested in this project.

Currently, American Eagle and the project’s bondholders are working their issues through the local legal system and several hearings have already been accomplished or planned in the near future. Despite the current issues, the developer will continue to provide the same high-quality, timely support to the residents of Quiet Pines. While I am as anxious as anyone to have construction resume at the site, I trust in our legal system to find a solution to the existing problems. Until that time, you can be assured that I, as well as my staff here, will continue to do everything we can to assist that effort.



Col. Kenneth Todorov

Commander, 23rd Wing,

Moody AFB