On a sunny summer afternoon in George Washington Village, workmen water bright-green lawns, while families gather at the neighborhood playground for a picnic lunch as children play on a nearby swing set.
Such is the scene in just one of the many new neighborhood developments, collectively known as "The Villages at Belvoir" springing up all over this Mount Vernon area Army installation.
In 2003, an agreement under the U.S. Army Residential Communities Initiative between Clark Pinnacle Family Housing LLC and the Department of the Army made what was once a dream for many Fort Belvoir military families — modern housing comparable with what they might find off-Post — a reality.
"I think it’s nice. It’s clean and it’s new," said Veronica Robinson, 28, who recently moved to Fort Belvoir with her husband and five children.
Standing in the doorway of her expansive home in George Washington Village, she talks about how much nicer her current accommodations are as compared with her former home at Camp Lejeune, N.C. "The utilities are included here — that’s a great thing. And it’s big." she says with a grin.
Development and construction of the new homes began in 2004, according to Don Dees, a Fort Belvoir spokesman. In total, according to material provided by The Villages at Belvoir, the project will "develop, rehabilitate and construct 2,070 homes on 576 acres" of Fort Belvoir property. During the initial development period that will last eight years, an estimated 1,630 homes will be constructed, while an additional 170 homes, which are considered to be historically relevant, will also be restored.
According to Dees, the housing project was necessary because houses on Fort Belvoir were aging, and "We knew that we had a fixed budget for addressing ongoing maintenance issues. The older a building gets, the less sense it makes to use precious funds to fix the same problems over and over."
The Army decided to privatize its housing services to ensure that members of the military "are provided houses that are at least as good as those for the people they’ve sworn to defend," he said. "By bringing in a private partner and allowing them to have flexibility to build new homes and maintain existing homes, using money that’s coming in from soldiers’ housing allowances, that’s a smarter way of doing business."
According to Kim Lear, Marketing Director with The Villages at Belvoir, the response to the new communities has been positive.
Representatives at The Villages at Belvoir Welcome Center are responsible for assigning homes throughout all of the Villages at Belvoir, including incoming families assigned to the National Capitol Region from other locations, and families who live off-Post but wish to relocate within the gates. Because housing is designated by rank, said Lear, availability depends on the eligibility for a particular location, but there is some immediate availability.
To date, four new communities have been completely opened to Ft. Belvoir families and occupied: Herryford Village, 171 homes; Vernondale Village, 162 homes; Cedar Grove Village, 82 homes; and Lewis Village, 274 homes.
GEORGE WASHINGTON VILLAGE is now opening, and currently 37 homes are occupied. The development will boast 196 homes when complete. According to Dees, the process is made to move quickly. Units are finished, inspected and cleared for occupancy as soon as is safe to do so, but because the neighborhood is an active construction zone, there must be a stand-off zone for the sake of safety.
For Patrice Williams and her husband, Lt. Col. Bruce Williams, whose family was relocated in January from Jadwin Loop to live in Colyer Village, there have been some trade-offs involved with location change.
"It’s different," Williams said. "There was a greater sense of community [in Jadwin] because the kids played in one area in front of the homes. For the kids here, there’s an awkward way to get down to the playground. I think everyone is getting settled in and they like it," she said. "I like having a backyard here — a fenced backyard. It’s nice; it’s just different."
But the effort to update housing on Fort Belvoir was badly needed, she said, and has made conditions for many residents "definitely better."
One such resident is Joni Wilson, who moved with her family from off-Post housing at Woodlawn into George Washington Village in early May. The Wilson family was eligible for the move through the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), which is designed for families in which a member may have special medical needs.
As Wilson’s 2-year-old daughter, Maali, wanders the front yard, Wilson explains how her daughter was recently diagnosed with eye cancer and is recovering from surgery and chemotherapy in their new home. The move has made things easier for her family.
"I love that the homes are energy-efficient, and how they’ve taken into account all the features and accessibility issues, especially for a special-needs child," Wilson said. "I was happy with our old house, but this is built more for community and socializing, with the playground centered in the middle … and of course I love the house."