By Brandy Cruz
Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos) Public Affairs
FORT HOOD (Now designated Fort Cavazos), Texas — In a concerted effort to increase productivity while beginning construction on new homes in Chaffee Village, Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos) Family Housing, a Lendlease privatized military housing community, is currently in the process of creating a temporary road and bridge that will feed directly into the housing area here.
“The alternative access bridge will save approximately $1 million in being able to use off site concrete material,” explained Chris Albus, project director for FHFH. “It will also allow more efficient and faster construction delivery and save overall access time of the workforce. Lastly, it will allow a broader skilled workforce to be utilized.”
The bridge construction is expected to begin in late May and will take approximately four weeks to complete, so that the new home construction may begin soon. FHFH construction crews will access the temporary road northeast of the Marvin Leath Visitors Center, cross over Nolan Creek and feed directly into the south side of Chaffee Village. Residents and other vehicles will not have access to the road, which will be monitored by a guard.
“Safety of our residents is top priority,” Albus said. “The bridge will be open while work is being conducted during working hours.”
The demolition and subsequent new construction of nearly 600 new junior enlisted homes in Chaffee Village is part of a $420 million community development plan announced by Lendlease in 2021. Crews are currently excavating the area and grading work is underway for the first 51 new homes. Additionally, underground utilities started the second week of May, and the first sets of building pads will be ready this month.
Vertical construction of the spacious three-bedroom, two bath floorplans is estimated to begin in late September. The homes will be Energy Star certified and are intended to be designed by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. The homes will offer open floorplans, gathering spaces for families, modern finishes, increased storage and more amenities.
“Those houses are going to be targeted at our junior enlisted Soldiers, which is exactly the right place to put that initial big push,” Col. Chad R. Foster, commander of U.S. Army Garrison – Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos), said. “These are new Soldiers, many of whom, this is their first or second duty assignment. We already put this massive weight on their shoulders, everything we ask them to do on a daily basis – to protect our country, to support our national security objectives, to deploy, to train – well, the least we can do is give their families a peace of mind and give a high quality, safe place to live.”
Albus said FHFH remains in communication with its residents, keeping them apprised of the construction, as well as alternate routes they must take entering and exiting the neighborhood during the construction process.
“The new housing is the centerpiece of our very robust development initiatives happening across post,” Albus added. “During my 20 plus years of service and living in on-post housing, I always appreciated Lendlease’s investment towards enhancing communities. Providing new homes to our junior enlisted families will help provide a good first impression of the on-post living experience. We are proud of our part in mission readiness and look forward to continuing in our commitment of providing communities where military families live, work and thrive.”
