New housing on the way for Spangdahlem

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christy Byers
  • Detachment 9, Air Force News Agency
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany (AFNEWS) --  Airmen of the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem AB are witnessing the base grow and improve as the Air Force is spending $83 million to rip up the old housing units and building new ones in their place.
 
The 139 new homes will be completed by 2010 as demolition of old stairwell housing has been going on since November and the construction of 79 new homes starts this May. 

By the end of 2008, seven senior officers, 24 senior NCOs, and 48 junior NCOs will move into the brand new homes. Three of the remaining 10 stairwell buildings will become temporary lodging and seven will stay with the families.

Phase II of construction starts in September and will add 60 more units to the base. Those homes will house 11 field grade officers, four company grade officers, and 45 junior NCOs.

It's an inconvenience for residents, but the benefits far outweigh the cost, said Denise Hastye, the Spangdahlem AB Housing Flight director. The base housing is 50 years old.

"The people here are paying the ultimate price for those to come after them," Mrs. Hastye said. "It's just going to be an awesome time to watch the construction, just to be a part of history as the construction is taking place and watching the units come up out of the ground. It's almost like birthing a baby, from infancy to watching it grow." 

"For the first time we're going to have heated floors, which is a big plus, and of course on the outside you'll see a lot of the German homes have heated floors," Mrs. Hastye said. "Another big plus is the single-car garages, because living in stairwells, our families do not have garages. Also, we'll have ceramic tile floors throughout and upstairs, the bedrooms will be carpeted." 

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