Corvias, Army committed to Soldiers, Families

Photo By Chuck Cannon | Corvias has built 678 new homes, such as these in Palmetto Terrace, since taking over the day-to-day operations of Fort Polk on-post housing in 2004.  

FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES

10.26.2018

Story by Chuck Cannon 

Fort Johnson Public Affairs Office

FORT POLK, La. — Nearly 15 years ago when Corvias assumed the day-to-day operations of Fort Polk housing, a relationship began with the Army and the installation located in the piney woods of West Central Louisiana that not many Soldiers or Families understood, even today, said Matt McGee, operations director for Corvias.
“It is a true partnership between the Army and Corvias; we’re not just contractors here to make a buck, take Soldiers’ money and send it back home,” he said. “We’re committed to providing the highest quality of housing here for the 50 year partnership.”
Danny Bartlett, facilities director for Corvias, said the company inherited homes in disrepair and a backlog of work orders.
“We inherited almost 5,000 open work orders that the government had not done because they didn’t have the funding,” Bartlett said. “They (Army) were doing emergency work orders only and putting the routine work orders off until we took over.
“We immediately had to catch up all the work orders and at the same time, go into the planning stages of building the new homes and renovating homes iN disrepair. The maintenance on existing homes had not been kept up due to funding issues of the government.
Bartlett said home interiors had vinyl composition tile unless they were two-story, and then they had commercial grade carpet.
“When we renovated, we replaced cabinets, upgraded doors, put carpet throughout the homes and new vinyl flooring,” he said. “Now we’re doing exterior renovations, in the midst of that program.”
To understand Corvias’ relationship with the Army, McGee said it is important to understand why the Army privatized on-post housing.
“The Army realized they wanted to be in the business of fighting wars and readiness and not managing housing,” McGee said. “They looked at the housing portfolio and realized there was a huge capital backlog.
“They decided to bring in private partners who were experts at real estate. That’s what Corvias is: We’re an expert at developing, constructing and managing real estate. We could also bring in funding to tackle this capital backlog. In addition to all of the work orders, there hadn’t been a new home built since 1989. There were no community centers and there was no money available to do any work. Had the partnership not happened, who knows what Fort Polk would look like today?”
McGee further explained how Corvias uses the Basic Allowance for Housing, or BAH, to fund improvements and new construction.
“We use the BAH payments that residents pay to fund all our operations. Corvias makes a set fee, and whatever is left over goes into a savings account that is reinvested back into the community,” McGee said.
“This is something our residents have a hard time understanding. It’s very different than most companies. Most companies, if they make a million dollars, they put the money in their pockets. If we make a million dollars, it goes into a reinvestment account that we put back into the community.”
“That lets the Army know we’re not just looking out for ourselves and trying to save money because it makes us money,” he said. We’re trying to save money to be good operators, and put the money back into projects.”
McGee said the initial development period (IDP) was about 12-13 years and Corvias invested more than $300 million into the housing communities at Fort Polk.
“Corvias is now in the secondary development period and the money we have to use is the money we save ourselves,” he said. “We have to be good operators to ensure we have the money to put back into our homes. We can only repave a street if we have enough money to repave it. We have to think about the next 35 years.”
McGee said housing has seen vast improvements during the past 14 years.
“We’ve built 678 new homes, four community centers, lots of parks, put in four pools, carports, bus stops, dog parks and backyard fencing,” he said.
“It’s supposed to mirror what’s available on the outside, but what we offer is unmatched anywhere outside the gate. Residents can’t find the value or the amenities we have here for their BAH payment off post.”
Bartlett said Corvias is currently in the midst of a significant geothermal replacement.
“When we took over we had air conditioning systems that were undersized for the homes,” he said.
“We have a $34 million plan where we’re replacing the HVAC in older homes. That will be a big improvement for Families.”
Not only will residents have “cooler” homes, McGee said the new systems are more energy efficient.
“That means energy savings, which puts more money back into the program,” he said. “It’s also good for the overall Army goal of energy resiliency.
“That also includes water upgrades as well — low flow fixtures that will reduce the overall utility usage.”
McGee said other recent improvements include: $5 million in exterior upgrades replacing roofs, gutters, fascia, and painting on 516 homes in Dogwood and Maple Terrace.
“We’re doing about $250,000 in roads this year and hope to do about $2 million next year,” he said. “We’re focusing now on main thoroughfares, then starting in 2020 doing more of the individual side roads.”
Which brings up another subject McGee said residents might not be aware of: Corvias does more than just manage housing.
“We do more than just homes,” he said. “We also manage the roads, basketball courts, storm drains, community centers, some of the electrical infrastructure, trash pick up, grass cutting, and police and fire protection all through residents’ BAH payments, so we have to make those payments stretch a long way.”
As for what the next few years hold, McGee said Corvias plans to continue to reinvest funds back into the project in 5-year increments, focusing on what the biggest needs are.
“We plan to address some of the exteriors, then come back and demolish and build new homes, with the goal of having no home on Fort Polk older than 20 years old,” he said. “To do that, we have to generate the funds, so that’s why its important to have the highest occupancy levels possible, which is why we’ve opened housing to other eligible tenants, including retirees, contractors and Department of the Army civilians.”
McGee said there are also plans to install solar panels.
“The Army has made it clear they want more energy resiliency, and one of the things we’re looking at now is doing a solar project,” he said. The plan is to put in either ground- or roof-mounted solar panels, maybe in 2019 or beyond. It’s another way that will allow the Fort Polk program to reduce its energy usage and put more money back into the reinvestment account.”
McGee said the bottom line is Corvias wants to be the best partner for the Army, and ultimately for the Soldier.
“We appreciate what our Soldiers and Families do for us on a daily basis,” he said. “To that end, we want to do whatever we can to improve their quality of life here at Fort Polk.”

• Date Taken: 10.26.2018
• Date Posted: 10.29.2018 15:55
• Story ID: 298091
• Location: FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US