New office location makes home shopping convenient

Published March 19, 2009
By Thea Skinner
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Come in, relax and prop-up the feet - this is home! Peterson Air Force Base Capital Asset Management Office, formerly known as the housing office, is in the final stage to co-locate with Terra Vista Communities, Airman's attic, and the loan locker at 300 Vincent Street on March 23.

"You will be able to fill out your (housing) application, get your referral, and be assigned a home in the same area," said Joey Sanchez, privatization program manager at the office. "We will be able to provide one-stop-shopping for our military members instead of them traveling across the base. We will be in close proximity."
The office moves from the present location near the 21st Space Wing Headquarters into building 1425, near the former base exchange.

Terra Vista Communities manages homes and assigns homes to newly arrived families based on AF orders, along with preventative housing maintenance at Peterson AFB. The office provides oversight by ensuring homes are in accordance with legal documents, that leases are signed, and coordinates timely responses to maintenance calls.

Home occupancy at Peterson AFB is at about 96 percent and new homes will come online in summer 2009, Sanchez said.

The cluster of services at one location provides ample customer accessibility. The office also refers customers to housing resources such as the Automated Housing Referral Network or AHRN, an online Web site providing housing options to servicemembers.

The network has evolved from 4,000 registered users in 2004, the initial start-up, to more than 384,000 in February, said Kraig Rodenbeck, vice president of government services for AHRN.

"It has really taken hold and is a tremendous advantage for military. It is military usage only," he said. "Keep it within the family is the motto."

In December the "final deployment" of the network occurs nationally and in Europe, broadening the network's service area.

"We will be deployed in Europe at the end of the year. Military housing personnel will be trained, local property owners will be trained, and houses are visible to those searching," he said.

In February, more than 289,000 servicemembers and about 75,000 property managers used the system. During the same month, 19,000 servicemembers listed properties on the network to rent to other servicemembers and 171 installations used the network.

The capital asset management office co-location is a part of the 21st Civil Engineering reorganization effort. The office is closed through Mach 18 to move to 300 Vincent Street, Building 1425, and reopens March 23. For more information about housing, visit www.ahrn.com.