US Navy sends out urgent calls for housing for personnel

BY MAUREEN N. MARATITA
Journal Staff

In an unusual move, the U.S. Navy in Guam has widely publicized the issuance of a Request for Proposals for housing for accompanied and unaccompanied personnel, more than a year after a Request for Information appeared.

According to RFP N4019225RP0030 as featured on sam.gov, questions are due Sept. 26, and Phase 1 responses are due Oct. 13 to Naval Facilities Engineering and Systems Command Pacific. A number of respondents will be selected from those responding to Phase 1 and invited to submit detailed proposals in November in Phase 2. “Offerors may propose single or multiple sites,” the RFP says.

“The total unaccompanied housing requirement is approximately 800 units and the total family housing requirement is approximately 1,600 units based on the current projected end-states for force flow in the mid-2030s,” the RFP says. “The initial (Phase 1) of this requirement is targeted to be 400 unaccompanied housing units and 917 family housing units. These units should be available for occupancy by June 2028,” the RFP says.

“The balance of unaccompanied and family housing units (Phase 2) will be required in a subsequent phase to be available for occupancy by no later than June 2032,” according to the RFP.

At least 75% of the housing should be in the center of Guam, and a minimum of 50 units is required.

Photo of preferred area for housing for US personnel

Aside from housing on Marine Corps Camp Blaz – not all of which is completed, various awards have recently been made for Andersen Air Force Base dorms repairs and replacement of existing housing. See various stories: MBJ: Sea Pac Engineering Inc. awarded $34.33M for dorm repairs and MBJ: Andersen Air Force base to see new housing by the end of 2028

However, in this RFP the Navy recognized how behind it is in planning accommodation for the move of personnel from Okinawa to Guam.

“To address near- and mid-term shortfalls, the government is considering a range of acquisition approaches, which may include lease, lease-to-purchase, purchase or other transaction structure, for up to 1,600 MFH units and 800 UH units, with initial delivery of housing beginning no later than June 2028.”

About 40% of U.S. military live out in the community, according to Journal files.

The Request for Information was issued as a Special Notice on Feb. 17 last year by Naval Facilities Engineering and Systems Command Pacific “seeking innovative housing solutions to accommodate 1,000 to 4,000 additional accompanied and unaccompanied service members on the island of Guam due to increased military presence,” the notice said.

“The Department of Defense … anticipates receiving innovative concepts and ideas that will effectively address the housing needs of our esteemed service members and their family, while accommodating the expanding military presence on the island of Guam,” the RFI said. Responses were due March 15 last year.

That RFI also welcomed all manner of solutions for “optimizing land utilization and ensuring high quality of life developments …” For further details on how the U.S. military houses personnel, see: Guam housing RFI looks to meet buildup housing needs | Marianas Business Journal

More than 20 entities replied to the RFI, according to Journal files.

As the Journal has reported, Guam has had various land use plans through the years.

The 1977 I Tano'-ta land use plan looked forward at the period from 1977 to 2000. The Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans issued a North and Central Guam Land Use Plan in 2009, which aimed to revise the I Tano’-ta plan in the light of the military buildup, through an inter-agency working group. “Growth in the military sector will, in turn, impact private sector economic and residential growth and development. Much of this future growth is expected to occur in the northern and central part of Guam,” the 2009 plan said.

The Guam Housing Corp. solicited information in 2020 “to determine if there are businesses interested in building affordable homes on GHC properties,” but by then construction costs were rising, and contractors were also fully occupied with military construction awards. At the time, GHURA reportedly estimated the island needed 9,000 affordable homes.

Most recently, Gov. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero announced July 1 last year the formation of the Attaining Housing Commission, which was to consist of representatives of various GovGuam agencies. The commission was to make various recommendations, convene quarterly meetings with stakeholders and procure the services of a consultant “to assist the Commission in developing actionable recommendations focused on addressing Guam’s housing needs.”

In a Sept. 14 statement, Robert A. Underwood, chairman of the Pacific Center for Island Security, said, “This RFP reflects a failure of the military to adequately plan for it mission in Guam. It reflects the continuing pattern of expecting the people of Guam to bear the cost – in increased rentals and increased home prices – for this failure in military planning and funding.

Underwood also referred to housing needs for the proposed Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense System, and the lack of budgeting for that or additional housing.

As to what will happen to the multitude of housing units awarded through the RFP, one contractor told the Journal, “I think after six and a half years when this family housing and unaccompanied contracts are up, perhaps they will be folded into this, or it might go privatized – perhaps open procurement.” mbj

US Navy sends out urgent calls for housing for personnel