GMH, Army Close on $110M Deal

AUGUSTA, GA-GMH Communities Trust of Newtown Square, PA began earning management, construction/renovation and development fees May 1 at the Army’s $110-million shelter project at Fort Gordon . However, the number of new homes to be built or renovated has been reduced to 887 from 1,432 homes, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. The aggregate value of the project has also shrunk from $148 million.

GMH’s contract with the Army is for 50 years. The assignment covers the management, maintenance and operations of all family residences on the base, along with new construction and renovations of 887 homes. The company’s partners are the Benham Cos. of Oklahoma City and Dallas-based Centex Corp. Fort Gordon is just outside Augusta.

The new contract is GMH’s eighth multimillion-dollar deal with the Army. The Congress authorized the private-military arrangement in 1996. The Military Housing Privatization Initiative allows the Department of Defense and the Department of the Army, through its Residential Communities Initiative, to work with the private sector “to upgrade the quality of family housing and operation and maintain that housing,” according to a prepared statement from Bruce Robinson, president of GMH Military Housing division.