BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -
By Doug Walker – bio | email
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - A $237 million housing project at Keesler Air Force Base came to an end Monday. Since 2005, 1028 homes have been built to replace the ones destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
According to William Yates of Yates Construction, it was a monumental task.
"That's almost one and a half houses completed per day for two straight years, 365 days a year," Yates said proudly
Outside, there is plenty of green space and parks for kids to play, and the homes are neatly arranged along quiet streets. But inside is where the real difference can be seen.
The rooms are large and inviting, and there is plenty of storage space. The ultra modern homes contain all the amenities anyone would ever want. In fact, the residents absolutely rave about them.
Ainsley Gottrich and her Air Force husband are raising their two children in the complex. She's never seen anything like it in military housing.
"They are all so nice, so new and super easy to move into with wonderful colors, very neutral and very easy to live in," Gottrich said. "And some of the best square footage that you can get anywhere in the Air Force."
Base Housing Director Brett Long said there are other benefits to living in the new military housing.
"It's great for morale," Long said. "It also gives piece of mind for when our troops are downrange or deployed. They know their families are in good safe housing and have a good quality of life."
And that quality of life is taking a giant step forward from the pre-Katrina housing that so many Air Force families had become accustomed to.
Another feature of the homes is they were all built with green in mind. They have several energy saving features such as extra insulation, more efficient windows and doors, and lighting that uses far less electricity.
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