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Fort MeadeFamily HousingTuesday, April 24, 2007
What is Privatization?
Privatization uses the authorities contained in the Defense Authorization Act known as the Military Housing Privatization Initiative signed into law in 1996. Through this legislation, the Army created a program called the Residential Communities Initiative (RCI) which provides alternatives for the Military Services to improve family housing. Picerne Military Housing Using this legislation, Fort Meade has created a long term partnership with Picerne Military Housing to finance, design, construct, manage, operate and maintain its family housing inventory over a fifty-year period. Family Housing By relocating to Fort Meade, you have a unique opportunity to reside in one of the country’s first privatized military housing programs. In 2002, all family housing at Fort Meade became privatized under the Army’s Residential Communities Initiative (RCI) program. This program permits military families to experience the same quality homes, amenities and services offered by most civilian housing communities, without incurring the additional cost of many off-post communities. Picerne’s 81 years of experience Picerne’s 81 years of experience in developing and managing residential communities has been instrumental in improving the quality of life for military families at Fort Meade and several other installations. Quality living begins long before the families move-in, as each home is inspected from top to bottom. Each home receives a comprehensive turnover and repair the first time it becomes vacant. Homes are cleaned and painted, maintenance is completed and upgrades are installed. Upgrades vary by housing area and may include items such as new mini-blinds, plumbing, lighting fixtures, counters, vinyl flooring and in some cases, carpeting and new appliances. Major upgrades and extensive renovations have been completed in over 500 homes. There are also over 500 newly-constructed homes, as of November 2006. Regardless of the age of the home you will move into, you can be assured your home has received the utmost care and service to ensure you receive a quality home for you and your family. Personalized service for family housing residents starts at the Leasing and Relocation Center. Feel free to stop by or call to speak with a relocation specialist. Leasing and Relocation Center 2965 2nd Army Drive (just off of Reece Road across from the Citizens Bank) (410) 305-1258 or (866) 525-home Hours of Operation Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Saturdays 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Sundays 1:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Picerne Military Housing recognizes the importance of keeping traditional military customs with housing assignments. Their neighborhoods keep to the traditional rank band integrity you may have become accustomed to with your previous military housing experiences. Although many traditional military customs are followed, Picerne has made changes to the housing assignments to make living on post more convenient for you. Their housing assignments for home sizes are based on your family size. They allow one child per bedroom, regardless of age or gender. Leasing your home is simple! Relocation specialists are available to help make your move on post as seamless as possible. Active duty military families simply fill out an application, provide a current copy of their orders and their supporting dependent documentation. A Picerne relocation specialist will then assist you with the selection of homes and availability for your rank band and time frame. Did you know military retirees and federal employees can live on post, too? If homes remain available after all active duty military and their families are housed, excess homes are then made available to military retirees and federal employees! Leasing is simple. Just contact the Leasing and Relocation Center to inquire about how to lease a home. Neighborhood Centers Historically, living on post has offered many small-town conveniences to residents such as the Post Exchange, Commissary, post office and shoppette to provide the benefit of never having to leave post. Now with privatization, Picerne has made it even more desirable to live on post with the addition of new neighborhood centers with great amenities previously only found in newer, off-post communities. Picerne’s existing and planned neighborhood centers are grand-scale clubhouses that allow residents the opportunity to utilize amenities including swimming pools, fitness centers, sport courts, media rooms, business centers and more. Each neighborhood center is similar in structure and amenities but each one has unique features. Some of the unique features at the Potomac Place Neighborhood Center include the children’s library, an AAFES laundromat, billiards game room and communications kiosk. The children’s library is a branch of the Medal of Honor Post Library and is staffed by their librarians throughout the week. The communications kiosk is a very special amenity that allows residents to send loved ones and deployed family members or friends a special message in the form of an e-mail, voicemail or video message. The Meuse Forest Neighborhood Center swimming pool accommodates fun in the sun for more residents and is also home to a stadium seated entertainment room where you and your family can watch a fun family movie. Today, five neighborhood offices serve six neighborhoods on-post. Each office provides full service property management. The knowledgeable, dedicated neighborhood teams are available five days a week to assist with matters such as assignment and termination, placing of work orders, and resolving neighbor relations problems. Picerne maintenance services include interior repairs and landscaping for each home. Residents no longer have to cut their grass or rake leaves! Picerne’s surface-clean move-out policy has saved thousands of dollars for military families, as a cleaning team is no longer necessary to move out and clear. Family Support Services is an integral component of Picerne Military Housing. Members of our Family Support Services team work hand-in-hand with installation programs such as the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), and Family Child Care (FCC) to facilitate specialized services. New Homes New homes throughout the installation will offer larger rooms, at least three bedrooms and one and half baths, walk in closets, and in some floorplans, an oversized garage to accommodate large vehicles and additional storage needs. They will be energy-efficient and computer-ready. They will include many exciting new features such as modern cabinets, kitchen islands, specialty flooring and upgraded appliances. These homes have been designed with family needs in mind, and have open floor plans wonderfully suited for family life. All Neighborhood Offices are open five days a week and Neighborhood Centers are open seven days a week! Hours of Operation Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Saturdays 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Sundays 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Neighborhoods On Fort Meade, residents will find beautiful existing, renovated and new homes. Picerne has six neighborhoods that are each named with a historic theme based on a landmark military event. These neighborhoods include:
Potomac Place 4998 Second Corps Boulevard (410) 672-2981 Picerne opened the first new neighborhood at Fort Meade being built under the Army’s family housing privatization program in the summer of 2003. Named for the Army of the Potomac commanded by General George G. Meade, Potomac Place includes sub-neighborhoods of junior NCO, senior NCO, company grade and field grade homes that have been designed with input from Fort Meade families. Potomac Place is home to the Army’s very first neighborhood center featuring benefits and amenities that every resident can use. Since Potomac Place is Fort Meade’s first new neighborhood, it will showcase each style of home being built and features a sample of each architectural scheme that will be used to make each neighborhood feel like home. The five architectural styles being used include Craftsman, Colonial, Urban, Eclectic and Seaside. Each style creates an atmosphere of homes that you may find in various parts of Maryland. Meuse Forest 8700 91st Division Boulevard (410) 672-2475 Meuse Forest, the second neighborhood under development, is named for one of the most remarkable campaigns in the history of World War I – the Meuse-Argonne campaign. In Meuse Forest, residents will find new and renovated sub-neighborhoods of junior NCO, senior NCO, company and field grade homes. In January 2005, Picerne opened its second neighborhood center, which offers the same great features as the Potomac Place Neighborhood Center. The style of homes being built in this neighborhood is Craftsman, identifiable by a rustic look and interior features that include rich dark wood tones, wrought iron fixtures and subdued colors for countertops and appliances. Midway Common 7312H Ames Court (410) 672-2301 Midway Common is named for the Battle of Midway, fought over and near the U.S. mid-Pacific base at Midway Atoll during World War II. The choice of a naval battle for naming a neighborhood at an Army installation was made in recognition of the fact that today’s families at Fort Meade include members of every military service. Located closest to the National Security Agency (NSA), Midway Common is the largest neighborhood with more than 800 homes. Midway Common serves all rank bands and is home to single family one-level ranchers with basements, duplexes and townhomes. The style of this neighborhood will be Urban, reminiscent of a traditional family-oriented community designed to enhance pedestrian circulation where you can get to know your neighbors. Patriot Ridge 3533A McWhorter Court (410) 672-2183 Patriot Ridge is home to Fort Meade’s newer senior NCO town homes built under a military construction contract in the mid 90’s before privatization began on Fort Meade. Patriot Ridge received its name to pay homage to the Revolutionary War and the establishment of the United States. Appropriately, the home styles in Patriot Ridge will be Colonial. The architectural styles developed by our forefathers are still popular and beautifully suited to the Revolutionary War theme. Normandy Bluffs 4242 Doyle Court (410) 672-2000 Normandy Bluffs is also home to Fort Meade’s newer junior NCO town homes built under MILCON. Representing the European Theater of World War II, Normandy Bluffs is named for one of the best-known and most important battles of WWII. Heritage Park 4242 Doyle Court (410) 672-2000 Heritage Park is dedicated to the history of Fort George G. Meade. Residents live in uniquely beautiful historic homes and cottages. Some of these homes were originally built in the early 1930’s and are filled with character and distinctly beautiful architecture from the various artisans who helped construct them. Picerne works very close with the Maryland State Historical Preservation Office to maintain the integrity of the historical homes while renovating the interiors to provide residents with the updated necessities and touches of home that you will find in our newer housing. These charming homes and cottages are some of the most popular on post and serves our JNCO, CGO, SGO, and GFOQ residents. Service Requests Family housing residents should place their service requests with their respective Neighborhood Office by phone, fax, email or a personal visit. Service requests are placed into one of three categories: emergency, urgent and routine. A work order number is issued at the time of the request for tracking. Residents should clearly state the nature of the problem when submitting a service request to ensure a proper response. Calls for emergency work orders occurring after duty hours, on weekends or holidays will be re-routed from the Neighborhood Office to an answering service that will direct the call to the appropriate response service. We hope you will choose Picerne Military Housing as your home during your tour at Fort Meade. Welcome Home! Residential Communities Initiative (RCI) RCI is the Army’s vehicle for improving the quality of life for military members and their families by working with their development partners to create quality, safe, attractive, and affordable housing and build communities. Each RCI installation partners with a private sector developer. Fort George G. Meade and Picerne Military Housing are the partners of Meade Communities, LLC. The RCI Liaison Team represents the Army and the residents in privatized military family housing. For more information, call (301) 677-7748. RCI Liaison Office The responsibilities of the RCI Liaison Office are to liaison between Picerne Military Housing and the Army, aid in the transition of privatized military family housing into the Army culture and act as an ombudsman for military service members and their families on unresolved concerns. The office also handles authorization of non-temporary storage, local moves, retirement⁄separation moves and off-post housing referral. Bachelor Quarters Permanent party bachelor accommodations may be obtained from the Bachelor Housing Office at 6405 Simmonds Road. Accommodations at the Freedom Center consist of 32 bachelor housing officer units and 30 bachelor housing senior enlisted units, each containing a bedroom, living room, private bath and kitchenette. Service members in the grade of E-1 thru E-5 will be assigned barracks space in accordance with their grade. The Freedom Center Barracks are state of the art facilities at the 1 plus 1 standard. NCOs’ in the grade of E-5⁄E-6 are assigned suites with private baths and E-1 through E-4 are assigned private rooms with a shared baths. Housing for personnel other than a permanent party is at the discretion of the Installation Commander. Medical Hold Personnel and Soldiers in a TCS mobilized status will be assigned quarters comparable to their grade when available. Assignment to bachelor quarters is based on the category of personnel and date of application for quarters. Hours of operation are 7:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. For more information, call (301) 677-4783⁄4763⁄ 2174 or (301) 677-5660 or (410) 672-1929. Abrams Hall operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For costs and⁄or more information, call (410) 674-7700 ext. 7278 or (301) 677-5660. Off-Post Housing The Community Homefinding Relocation Referral Services (CHRRS) is located in Picerne’s Central Leasing Office, 2967 A & B McGee Court. Personnel who want housing on the local economy should visit this office prior to signing a lease or entering into an agreement with local agencies. The CHRRS office has listings of apartments, private homes, rentals⁄sales and mobile home courts. Information on temporary lodging, furniture rentals, installation maps and other housing literature are available at the office.
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