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NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA-GMH Communities Trust's military housing division has closed on a private sector military housing project at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, CA. At the same time, the Department of the Air Force has selected the locally based specialty housing REIT as highest ranked offeror for its three-base AMC West housing privatization project.

The Vandenberg project has a 50-year term, beginning with a five-year initial development period that includes the design, construction and/or renovation along with overall management and maintenance of approximately 867 end-state housing units. The project cost for the initial period is estimated at $163 million.

Vandenberg is headquarters for the 30th Space Wing, which manages space and missile testing for the Department of Defense and places satellites into polar orbit from the West Coast. GMH will earn management and development fees throughout the term of the project. It is utilizing Fresno, CA-based Meyer Architecture & Planning Inc. and Greeley, CO-based Hensel Phelps Construction Co. on this project.