Housing privatization: what's next? Published Jan. 18, 2011 By Renetta Pearson 5th Civil Engineer Squadron MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- With the activation of the Air Force Global Strike Command, the missions on Minot AFB have been expanded and the base population has increased. Due to the shortage of off and on base housing proposed demolition on older housing units was delayed in order to have as many housing units as possible available for Minot AFB families. The privatization process for these units is still underway, and is expected to close in May, 2012. The housing privatization program has already been implemented throughout many Air Force, Army, and Navy installations and locally is intended to transfer all military housing at Minot to a private developer. As a result of this, the private developer will operate and maintain the housing units here for a predetermined period under a land lease format. In turn, the developer will lease the housing units to residents for rent that will be equal to their basic allowance for housing. So where do we stand now and where do we go from here? In order to ensure the needs of base residents are met and to ensure the Air Force receives the best private developer deal possible, base leadership has appointed a project development team. The project development team is currently establishing a request for qualifications to be published in February, which will be provided to all prospective developers. Prospective developers will be invited to participate in an industry forum scheduled for January 11, 2011 in Dallas, Texas followed by a site visit at Minot scheduled for January 28, 2011. The forum will brief prospective developers on housing requirements, utilities, and environmental needs and educate the developers about Minot's mission. After the industry forum is held and the request for qualification is published, the prospective developers are given 60 days to create and submit their proposals. In May, the proposals will be received and an extensive review process will begin. At the end of this process, scheduled for June, the project development team will meet to present, discuss, analyze and propose a ranked order for the proposals. Project approval, however, resides with the Deputy Secretary of the Air Force. The proposal is scheduled to be sent to the Deputy Secretary in June, and after the approval is given, the selected developer is notified of the decision and negotiations are held for the next 6 months. After negotiations are finalized, closing is scheduled. This is expected to take place in May, 2012. For more information about housing privatization, contact Ms. Janice Hoke at (701) 723-7679, or Ms. Kathy Miller at (701) 723-4656.