US Army: welcomehome

8/14/2019 US Army: welcomehome

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/us-army-welcomehome 1/23

We lc o m e Ho m e

We lc o m e Ho m e

A Guide to Living in T

he Villages at B

elv

oir

Ins ide

Residents Respond —Page C4

Maintenance Issues —Page C7

Building Communities —Page C9

Extreme Makeover —Pages C11 —C13

Town Center —Page C14

Mock Billing —Page C19



July 20, 2006C 2 Welcome Home -- A special supplement to the Belvoir Eagle

Welcome Home is a special supple-ment to the Belvoir Eagle, and ispublished in cooperation with thePublic Affairs Office, 9820 FlaglerRoad, Fort Belvoir, Va., 22060. Tocontact the Belvoir Eagle, call (703)805-2942 or 805-5001, or e-mail usat [email protected] Home is published byMedia General Newspapers Inc.,Woodbridge, Va., 22192, a privatefirm in no way connected with theDepartment of the Army, as a civilian

enterprise publication in the interestof Fort Belvoir, Va. Views and opin-ions are those of the writers and donot necessarily reflect the official viewof the Department of Defense,Department of the Army, Military Dis-trict of Washington or Fort Belvoir.Advertisement in this publication,does not constitute endorsement ofthe products or services by Depart-ment of the Army. Everything adver-tised herein must be made availablefor purchase, use, or patronage with-out regard to the race, creed, age,color, sex, or nationality of the pur-chaser, user, or patron unless pre-cluded by applicable federal, state orlocal laws. For Display and Classifiedadvertisement information, contactMedia General Newspapers Inc., at(703) 878-8000. Belvoir Eagle is aregistered trademark. Circulation:19,500.

Col. Brian W. LauritzenInstallation Commander

JoAnn BlanksDeputy to the Garrison Commander

Command Sgt. Maj.Tracey E.Anbiya

Installation Command Sergeant Major

Don CarrDirector of Public Affairs

Richard M. ArndtChief, Command Information

Chad JonesEditor

Marny MalinPhoto Editor

Julia LeDouxJennifer Brennan

Jennifer AlbertJennifer Small

Rena MalaiMelina Rodriguez

Staff Writers

Lori-Anne DowlingPage Designer

Eagle Belvoir

Special SupplementJuly 20, 2006 Section C

“Welcome home.”For m ilitar y families, those

words carry m any meanings.For the deployed Soldier,

“welcome home” is th e sweetrewar d for a job well done.

For the military spouse,“welcome home” may be th egreeting offered war mly byparents and family whenretur ning home for a visit.

For milita ry children, “wel-

come home” may signify thecompletion of a paren t’s over-

seas tour, and their re turn to

the familiar, “normal” life in

the States.I’d like t o suggest an other

mean ing. For Fort Belvoirfamilies, “welcome h ome”should be the feeling theyhave every time they walk through the door of their FortBelvoir home. Instead of being just one more place to

live over th e cours e of a mili-ta ry career, Fort Belvoirshould be a tr ue home to ourresidents.

Through our part nershipwith Clark Pinnacle, we’remaking that happen.

Gone are the days whenth e Army sh uffled families inand out of governm ent-ownedand operated quarters, withlittle or no maintenance per-

formed bet ween occupant s.Gone are the days of drab

row houses, scratched andmarr ed wood floors, andkitchens dating back to the1970s.

And, hopefully, gone arethe days when a military

family moved into a FortBelvoir home, took a look atth e condition of the house,and immediately beganmarking off days on the cal-endar unt il their next changeof station.

Clark Pinnacle assumedmanagement responsibility forall homes on Fort Belvoir inDecember 2003, and embark edupon an eight-year project to

demolish and replace 1,630homes and r enovate 170 his-torically significant ones. To

date, Clark Pinnacle has com-pleted 555 new homes and 25historic renovations — almosta th ird of the way through the1,800 new homes and renova-tions in the project.

But bricks and mortar donot make a h ouse a home.

Quality man agement of Fort

Belvoir neighborh oods, bothold and n ew, is key to making

military families feel welcome.From establishing and operat-

ing a first-class welcome cen-ter in the n ew Town Center on12th Street to maintaining

neighborhood tot lots andcommun ity centers, Clark Pin-

nacle has taken steps toimbue our neighborhoods with

a sense of community.Our residentia l villages

are also part of the greaterFort Belvoir commu nity. Ilike to th ink of Fort Belvoiras a small town, and a look

around our insta lla tionreinforces that thinking.Our fire department visitsour villages, going door-to-door to offer our residentsfriendly tips on fire safety— where else bu t in a sma l ltown can you get to knowyour local firefighter s byname? Our military andDepartment of the Armycivilian police frequent our

neighborhoods in vehicleand bike patrols, providinga wat chful presence andkeeping our families safe.

Our Youth Services andother Morale , Welfare a ndRecreation pr ograms farexceed an ythin g offered incivilian communities.

As military families travelfrom dut y station to duty sta-tion, they live in ma ny differ-ent houses. Some theyremember fondly as placesthey called home, others weresimply dwellings where theylived for a short time.

The goal of the FortBelvoir comman d group isthat our residents rememberour neighborhoods as placeswhere the bricks and morta rare backed up by caring man-agement and a great commu-nity. On behalf the comman dgroup and the entire FortBelvoir t eam, I’m proud t osay to our r esidents : “Wel-come home.”

‘We lcom e ho m e ’ has m any me aning sBy Command Sgt. Maj.

Tracey E. Anbiya

Command Sgt. Maj.Tracey E. Anbiya

To the service m embers of Fort Belvoir,

You need to know how mu ch we admir eyour coura ge in defending our freedoms.We recognize how much you and yourfamilies sa crifice for our count ry.

That is why we at Clark Pinnacle are

deeply honored to have t he pr ivilege of delivering the new homes and communi-ties and exceptional services that youand your families deserve. While you areprotecting our way of life, we are dedi-cated to providing a bett er qua lity of lifefor your families.

Our architect, Torti Gallas and Part-ners, has helped us create award-win-ning villages on-post, villages th athave won national awards for theirdesign and sma rt growth. This year,the Villages at Belvoir received a cov-

eted Charter Award from the Congressfor New Urbanism, and th e “Best Sub-urban Sma rt Growth Community”goldmedal award from the National Associ-

at ion of Home Builders. The Villages atBelvoir is the only privatized militaryhousing pr oject to have r eceived theseawards, a testimony to our m ission of providing you with the same quality of living in housing as the civilians youdefend.

By 2011, Fort Belvoir will be home

to 2,070 new and renovated homes andfive new commu nity centers. We aremaking progress. Our first t wo new vil-lages were delivered two months aheadof schedule. We continue t o deliver a naverage of 35 new homes per month.We are opening t he second new 4,200-squar e-foot n eighborhood cent er. Andalong 12th Street leading to the newWelcome Center, we have built the firstmixed-use residential/retail buildingsin th e hist ory of the Army’s Residentia lCommunities In itia tive. The stores will

begin opening th eir doors for busin essthis summer.

We know how eager many familiesare to receive a new home. We also

know your fam ily’s well-being dependsnot just on your h ome, but on yourcommu nity an d th e services youreceive.

Our management team strives withgreat care t o respond t o your needs,providing you with such services as on-site community managers, grass cut-

ting, leaf removal an d full-service main-tenance.

We care a bout th e work you are doingon our beh alf. We care about you.

On behalf of Clark Pinnacle, we areproud to welcome you home.

Sincerely,

Casey NolanProject DirectorClark Realty Capital

Dale AndrewsInvestment ManagerPinnacle,An AmericanManagement Services Company

Le tte r to the Edito r

Instead of being just one

more place to live overthe course of a militarycareer, Fort Belvoir

should be a true hometo our residents.

On th e cover:Sgt. John Alley is greeted by hiswife Kara and daughter Emma, 7,

on the steps of their Herryford Vil-lage home. (Photo by MarnyMalin)



July 20, 2006 C 3Welcome Home -- A special supplement to the Belvoir Eagle

Many people collaborated to bringfor th a Community Deve lopment

Management Plan that would reflect

th e Arm y’s, Fort Belvoir’s and pr ivate

developer’s vision for privat ized hous-

ing.The process began September 2002,

when Clark Pinnacle Family Commu-n it i es , L LC, w as s el ect e d a s t h eArmy’s partn er to write the plan, said

Cheri Thompson, Residentia l Commu-nities Liaison Office project supportspecialist.

The seven-volume comprehensiveproprietary plan contains the vision of

Fort Belvoir’s housin g for t he spa n of

50 years from the time the project

began in December 2003 to its com-

pletion.The plan was and still remains to

3M Government Solutions

Growing with Fort Belvoir,

serving to support mission readiness

Providing advanced technology, quality solutions and superiorservice to support the global needs of the United StatesMilitary. For more than 100 years, people around the worldhave looked to 3M for products and ideas that solve problemsand make their lives easier and better. With more than 55,000products, 30-plus core technologies and leadership in majormarkets served worldwide, 3M continues to develop ingenioussolutions to meet your varying needs.

To learn more, please visit http://www.3m.com

3 i

"Everyone can use a LITTLE help!"

Call Cynthia Little for your real estate needs

Cynthia M. Little

14140 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, VA 22193703 408-4035 cell

Visit www.cbmove.com/cynthia.little for property information

PW5585966820 Belmont Bay Dr

PW558826813505 Kelmont Ct

PW60027002694 Pheasant Hunt Rd

PW607498814113 Carmody Dr

WOODBRIDGE SPECIALS

Dr. Rosenman enjoys continuous

recognition among Top Dentists

by Washingtonian Magazine

Springfield Location

5419 C. Backlick Rd.

Springfield, VA 22151(703) 256-8554

NOW OPEN!

8988 Lorton Station Blvd. #101

Lorton, VA 22079(703) 541-3110

Lawrence D. Rosenman, DDS

Sara T. Brendmoen, DMD

Stephen C. Tupman, DDS

Cheryl A. Lobo, DDS

Lisa A. Marvil, DMD, MHS

P Invisalign Braces p

Specializing in Cosmetic, Periodontal & Family Dentistry

CDMP provides guidelinesBy Jennifer Brennan

Photo by Marny Malin Vernondale Village is home to noncommissioned officers and was the second newFort Belvoir village completed.

S ee CDMP , Pa ge C19




Re side nts Re spo nd

What do you think of privatized housing on Fort Belvoir?

Photos by Marny Malin

“I like the community, it is a really good sized house. Having agarage is a definite bonus. The children have plenty of room to play.They can use the green space to play soccer and baseball. The otherday we held a game using shoes for the bases. Privacy for the mostpart is good. Neighbors are pleasant. The house itself is excellent.The fact that it is military housing is fantastic, comparing it to otherhousing on bases in the past. Work commute is a hop, skip and a jump. There is no rank based type of discrimination in the awardingof housing, that is a real positive.”

Beneux family

Spc. Josh Beneux; Leaanne; Savannah, 4; Madison, 5

“It’s wonderful. We have fivechildren so in this area it’sextremely expensive. We feelblessed to be living on post. Thisis probably the first time we have

been able to give three of our chil-dren their own rooms. We havebeen able to keep the master bed-room. The kitchen is huge, we canall fit in the kitchen comfortably. Iam always in the kitchen and theappliances are wonderful. I homeschool so the space is a definiteplus. We are either in the kitchenor dining area, cooking, eating,learning or playing.”

Chase family

Erin Chase, 8; Tucker, 6; Sam, 8; Ann

“It’s nice, more than Iexpected. I really don’t haveany complaints. This ismuch better than any otherplace I have been. It’s verycomparable to any civilianneighborhood. Your expec-tations really aren’t thathigh and we were pleas-

antly surprised.”

Kizzee family

Myles Kizzee, 4; Spc.Cedric Kizzee; Leichala;

Kaelyn, 6

“Everything is better. The neighborhood is better, the house has plen-ty of storage space. The streets are wider and they have plenty of light-ing. We would highly recommend staying on post to everyone. Themaintenance people are super, there is a high turn around for any

issue. They attend to problems before we notice them or they are told.The rooms are spacious and it is great having a pantry. The laundry hasa separate room and that is fantastic. Overall the quality is impressive.”

Harvey family

Keaundra Harvey, 14; Vincent; Vincent II, 8; Sabrina



If you took a window tour of the housing on any of the 47Army installa tions beingphas ed into th e Army’s Resi-dentia l Communities Initia-tive, you would see the com-plexion of military housingchanging.

No longer are there anti-

quated, yet “remodeled” WorldWar II homes with green appleshag ca rpet . Instead , s tandingin their place are 21st centuryhomes with modern appliancesand amenities, comparable tothe homes for sale in nearbycommunities.

This wave of change has leftmany scratching their headswondering how the Army canafford to transform its forces,fight th e Global War on Terr or-

ism and still be able to provideSoldiers and their families withworld-class, quality homes.

The answer is — privatizedhousing.

Which logically begs thequestions, “What is RCI andhow did this a ll begin?”

The Army RCI program is acomponent of the MilitaryHousing Privatization Initia-tive that was signed into legis-lation in 1996 as part of the

Defense Authorization Act.This legislation provided ameans for the military toimprove the quality of life forservice members by improvingthe condition of their housingand was a response to an early1990s finding that 60 percentof DoD owned housing wasinadequate.

The privatization processallows the Army to leverageappropriated housing fundsand assets to attract private-sector capital and expertise, tomanage, ma in ta in and bu i ldhousing.

T hr ou gh R CI , t h e Ar m ycould provide the necessaryhousing faster and more effi-c iently than the traditionalmilitary construction processes

would allow, to which also thecosts would have been extraor-dinary and t he timeframe long.

“If this initiative would havebeen attempted through thenormal appropriations process,it would have taken at least 25to 30 years,” said Ivan Bolden,the Arm y’s Resident ial Com-munities Initia tive programm a n age r. “Al th ou gh m a n yinstallations were in dire needof new housing, the initiative

would have competed againstother Army priorities.”

In a ddition, RCI allowed forthe minimum standards forhousing to be increased, all thewhile being more energy effi-cient and offering Soldiersmore amenities, according toBolden.

Building homes is just onefacet of the Arm y’s pr ivatiza-tion pr ocess.

In addition to providing Sol-

diers and their families withnew residentia l homes andcommun ities, the Army is alsorestoring and modernizingexisting homes that do notrequir e demolition or cannot bedemolished due to their histor-ical significance.

For example, 170 of FortBelvoir’s 2,070 homes a re bein g

renovated instead of demol-ished because t hey are h istori-cally sensitive.

RCI and Fort Belvoir

The Army’s RCI programbegan with four pilot projectsand t hen an additional 20 proj-ects were added in 2001. FortBelvoir was included in thoseadditions.

Fort Belvoir partnered withClark Pinnacle Family Com-munities, LLC, under a 50-yearcontract to r enovate, upgradeand r eplace existing h ousing onthe insta l la t ion , which a lsoincludes the ongoing propertymanagement and main te -nance.

The p lann ing for Belvoir’sRCI housing followed tr adition-al community land planningconcepts t hat mirrored what isfound off post, according to

Bolden.The design complemented

the inst allat ion’s historic archi-tecture and allowed for spa-cious interior layout, with m od-

ern energy-saving appliances,organized around village


15605 Jeff Davis Hwy.(Rt. 1 and Blackburn Rd.)

Woodbridge, Va

703-670-8181

W E H AVE A L ARGE I NVENTORY OF N EW C HEVROLETS ,

I NCLUDING A F ULL L INE OF C OMMERCIAL V EHICLES .

VISIT OUR

WEBSITE: www.elindsay.com

As a 36 year Military dependent, I too know what its like to pack up and move

across the country or in some cases, from

continent to continent. I always welcome the opportunity to be of service!!

Angela Rodriguez, REALTOR RE/MAX Absolute12700 Black Forest Lane Woodbridge, VA 22192Cell 703-447-7222E-mail: [email protected] www.2hdb.com/angelarodriguez

110% committed to ALL

of her clients

Possesses excellent

negotiating skills

Personally monitors every

phase of the transaction

Uses innovative advertising &

marketing techniques to attract

potential buyers

Flexible hours to complement

your schedule

Arranges mortgage pre-approvals

RE/MAX EXECUTIVE

CLUB

PWAR MILLION

DOLLAR CLUB 2005


Workers load wood onto a crane in Cedar Grove Village.

All new homes on Fort Belvoir include garages.

The road toprivatization

By Jennifer Albert

S ee ROAD , Pa ge C22




New residential neighborhoods arespringing up all over Fort Belvoir, theresult of a $700 million public-privatepartnership between the Department of the Army and Clark Pinnacle Commu-nities LLC.

“Keep in mind tha t th is total includesnot only the construction har d costs, butdevelopment soft costs, property man-agement and maintenance, and debtse rvi ce ,” sa id Casey N olan , p roj ectdirector for Clark Pinna cle.

All the work is being financed

thr ough a bond, net operating income orcash flow generated during the con-struction period, interest earnings and

an equity contribution from Clark Pin-nacle, explained Nolan.

“This cash flow is directly correlatedto the BAH [Basic Allowance for Hous-ing],” he explained. “Soldiers’ BAH isrent which is used to pay the operatingexpenses and debt tha t enables the con-stru ction of homes to happen.”

The original loan was approximately$430 million of debt from Societe Gen-eral, Nolan cont inued. Clark Capita lMarkets Group arranged to refinancethe original debt early last year in order

to take a dvanta ge of market conditions.The new bonds were issued in threeclasses rat ed AAA, AA3 and A3 by

Moody’s Invest or S ervice.“This refinancing infused the project

with additional capital through a lowerinterest rate and other financial met-rics,”Nolan said. “At the time of the r efi-nan cing, the Belvoir debt had t he lowestinterest rate a nd highest bond rat ing of any military h ousing project.”

Nolan said the debt refinancingenables th e project to do more with th ecapital at h and.

“In other words, we can spend moremoney bui lding new homes versus

paying debt , ” he said , adding the newbond issuance is held by LehmanBrothers.

The initial development plan spanseight years and includes the demoli-tion and replacement of approximately1,630 homes and t he r enovation of 170historically significant residences onthe insta llation. When complete, Clark Pinnacle will manage a total of morethan 2,000 homes on Fort Belvoir forthe Army over th e next 50 years.

“There is $0 of government equity inthe project,” he stressed. “The primarysource of capital is t he bond, or loan onthe project.”

Cash f low vital to pro je c t’s succ e ssBy Julia LeDoux

Basic Allowance for Housing isintended to provide service memberson active duty with equitable housingcompensation based on housing costsin local civilian m ark ets.

It can help service members coverthe cost of rent ing an apar tment ,townhouse, or house off post, or i t canbe applied toward a mortgage. TheBAH dr awn by ser vice member s livingin th e installat ion’s privatized resi-dential villages is funneled to privatedeveloper Clark Pinn acle, which man -ages housing on the insta llation underthe nam e The Villages at Belvoir.

Staffers with the Defense MilitaryPay Office on Fort Belvoir cautiontha t a service member’s BAH may notcompletely cover his off-post housingcosts, no matt er if the service memberis rentin g or buying a h ome.

BAH is based up on geograph ic dutylocat ion, pay grade and dependencys t a t u s, e xp la i n ed Wa l t er G r a ve s, am i l i t a ry pay t echn ic i an w i th t heDMPO. Service members who res idein the metr opolitan Washin gton, D.C.,a r ea , w hich inc ludes F or t B e lvoi r,receive a higher BAH than those whoreside, for example, near For t Rucker ,Ala.

According to the 2006 BAH chart

r e l eased by the D epar tm en t o f D ef en s e , a n E - 5 wi t h d e pe n d e n t sas s igned to For t R ucke r, Ala ., w il ldraw a monthly BAH of $654. An E-5with dependents who is assigned toFort Belvoir receives a monthly BAHof $1,704. An O-4 with dependent sass igned to For t Rucker receives$1,092 in BAH while an O-4 withdependents assigned to Fort Belvoirreceives $2,470.

“BAH is based on locat ion, dutyass ignm ent , r ank and dependency, oron any combination of those or all of

the above,”Gra ves str essed.Service members living on- or off-

post see the BAH in their paychecks,

sa id G raves. H ow ever , t he B AH forservice members who live on-post ispayable in full to The Villages, whichuses the money to cover the costs of managing, maintaining and const ruct -ing new housing and ameni t ies on theinstallation.

Service members must turn overthe BAH in ful l to The Vi l lagesbecause th at i s pa r t of the agreementthat was worked out between theDepart ment of the Army an d the com-pany when housing became pr iva-tized.

The agreement a lso s t ipulates that

service members of different gradespay di f ferent amounts for the samehouse. For example, i f a sergeant f irs t

class lives in a house ident ical to tha toccupied by a sergeant , each wouldpay their full BAH amount as rent.

Ivan Bolden, the Army’s ResidentialCommunities Initiative program man-ager for policy, explained th at Soldierswho live on-post commonly pay theirrent in an a l lotment . Under the a l lot -m en t , B AH i s au tomat i ca l ly t r ans -ferred to The Villages at Belvoir at theend of every month .

“The local Defense Military PayOff ice does not s tar t , s top or changet h e h ou s i n g a l lo t m en t , ” e xp l a in e dG raves. “I t i s on ly stopped , s t a r t ed

and changed through Clark Pinnacle.”Soldiers can also opt to use a n elec-

t ronic funds t ransfer or pay the rent

in person each month.BAH generally covers the cost of

w a ter , s ew er , t r a sh , l awn ca re , gas andelectricity for Soldiers who live onpost , he said .

While a plan is in the works to billon-post residents for excessive utili tyuse , t hose who use ene rgy wi se lyshould see no out-of-pocket expense.(See related st ory, Page C19.

B o lden added tha t p r iva t i za t i ondoes not impact th e amoun t of BAH aSoldier receives.

Prior to the housing becoming pri-vat ized on Fort Belvoir in December of

2003, a Soldier’s BAH was forfeited t othe federal government if he chose tolive on post.

Soldier’s BAH needed for Belvoir’s privatized housingBy Julia LeDoux

Photo by Marny Malin

These Lewis Village homes cost approximately $250,000 each to build.



Ruth Belk carries an air conditioning

manifold, a channel lock wrench and ascrewdriver in her truck at all timesbecause she a lways tries to be preparedwhen she is working on maintenanceproblems at The Villages at Belvoir.

“You tr y to ha ve everything with youthe first time you go out to a house,”said Belk, a maintenance technician.“You tr y to ma ke [the resident s] happy.”

Belk’s job is to complet e th e finalstep in th e maintenan ce process, whichis going to the home, determining theproblem and then fixing that problem,

hopefully in one t rip.The first step in the process requiresthe resident to call their communitymanager an d report t he problem.

“During the day there is a managerthat [residents] can speak with direct-ly,” said Mary Bronwyn, communitydirector, Fort Belvoir Residential Com-munit ie s. “After hours the re is ananswering service available 24 hours aday, seven days a week.”

If a resident calls with an em ergencywhen th e office is closed, an an sweringservice will pick up, Bronwyn said.

All main tena nce problems ar e placedinto classificat ions upon r eceipt.

Emergency problems include natu ralgas leaks, electrical hazards an d a bro-ken front door lock, said Eddie Hud-speth, maintenance director at FortBelvoir.

Technicians will respond to thesetypes of problems within an hour, nomatt er th e time of day.

The next classification is urgent,which includes an inoperable oven,refrigerator or toilet, said Hudspeth.

These requests will be responded towithin four hours during normal busi-ness hours and within eight hours dur-ing evenings and weekends.

Then there is routine maintenance,which includes a dripping faucet, a bro-ken tile or a loose baseboard. Theseproblems are responded to within 72hours during business hours.

“Residents can call a number andput in a work request,” said Hudspeth.“The request hits our software systemand then a supervisor or manager

assigns the problem to a technician.”There is a full-time maintenance

staff consisting of four crews assignedto th e all of the villages at Fort Belvoir.Each crew has approximately eighttechnicians and groundskeepers andone su pervisor.

Contract workers are used for prob-lems that cannot be solved by themaintenan ce crews. “We try to do asmuch in h ouse as possible,” Hudspethsaid. “But for other problems we usecontracted vendors that are pre-

approved through the procurementprocess. We solicit additional contr ac-tors as needed correct those items th atwe can’t get to … for example, durin gMemorial Day weekend, the first hotdays of th e summer, we had to use con-tractors to fix air conditioning units atth e houses th at we couldn’t get t o.”

Contracted employees are alwaysescorted on base by a Clark Pinnacleemployee.

Residents are also provided withcomment cards or can complete an

online sur vey on t he service tha t theyreceived.The Residential Communities Liai-

son Office, which oversees th e housingcontra ct and FBRC, monitors mainte-nance performance based on feedback received from t hose two sources.

Residents can contact Bronwyn if they are not satisfied with the serviceth ey receive.

And while RCLO is not at the fore-front of housing issues, Vicki Davis,hous ing management spec ia l is t ,works as a go-between for Soldiersand FBRC.

“I am right here in the midst of allthe chaos,” she said. “That is the pri-mary way I monitor FBRC.”

After going through the first twochannels , issues can be brought toDavis who of ten t imes , she sa id ,informs the garrison commander of theproblem.


WWW.MILITARY-REALESTATE.COM

For Information,please call

Bob Hummer

703-878-HUMM

Attendees Will Receive:

Free Credit ReportReduced Closing Costs

Free Home BuyerFeasibility Analysis

A n E d u c a t e d H o m e B u y e r …

B e c o m e s a S a t i s

f i e d

H o m e O w n e r

HomeBUYER Seminar FREE !! FREE !!

“Everything you havealways wanted to know

about buying a home butwere afraid to ask”

CALL FOR

MONTHLYSCHEDULE!

STRAYER

UNIVERSITY13385 Minnieville Road,Woodbridge, VA 22192Intersection of Caton Hill and

Minnieville Roads, just pastHome Depot.

SPONSORED BY:

BOB HUMMER,Coldwell Banker

LINDA SULLIVAN, First

Horizon Home Loans

E. SHELDON LEGGETT, ESQ.MBH Settlements

Agenda packed with informationfor the prospective home buyer.

No obligation. A wealth of reference material will be provided.

System designed for prompt response to maintenance issues

By Melina Rodriguez


Ruth Belk, Clark Pinnacle maintenance technician, works on replacing a faucet in aRiver Village home.

Maintenance issues?Call your community manager:Tric Zyzyk: River, Herryford & Vernondale villages (703) 781-7280

Rebecca Reiter: Belvoir, Rossell, Jadwin, Fairfax, Gerber & Lewis

villages (703) 781-4833

Joi Gatling: Dogue Creek, Colyer & Park villages (703) 781-0596

Tonja Faggins: Woodlawn Village (703) 781-0566

Other contacts:

Mary Bronwyn (703) 454-9723Vicki Davis (703) 805-5368 For more information about post housing visit

www.villagesatbelvoir.com



Fort Belvoir has long beentouted as being a “unique”insta l la t ion and wel l deserv-ing of its n ame’s mea ning,‘Beau tiful to See.’ It carr ies acomplex mission and is hometo m ore t han 100 t enan tor g a n iz a t ion s , h ow ev er, i t sr eve re nce, in p ar t , com esfrom the character an d charmof the bui ldings and land-m arks t ha t m a ke up the h i s -

toric district.And that “uniqueness” res-

onated with Clark PinnacleF a m il y C om m u n i t i es , L LC ,when they were selected in2002 to improve the qua lity of housing for the service mem-bers assigned to live on theins t a l l a t i on a s pa r t o f t heArmy’s RCI progra m.

“When the project wasawarded an d began in Decem-ber 2003 the Belvoir portfolio

consisted of 2,070 homes, of which, 170 homes were identi-f ied as his tor ical ly s ignif i -ca n t ,” s a id C a se y Nol a n ,development execut ive forClark Pinnacle Family Com-muni t ies , LLC.

That meant Clark P innaclewas charged wi th br ingingthose 170 homes into the 21stcentury wi thout compris ingtheir original in tegrity.

“These [170 homes] consist

of 61 homes in Belvoir Vil-lage, 76 homes in Gerber Vil -l age, 25 tow n hom es in Jad -w in V il la g e , s i x h om e s o n21st S t r eet (a lso Jadwin Vi l-lage) and two homes in Park Vi l lage ; R ossel l V il l age i sa lso par t of the his tor ic dis-t r i ct , h o we v er a l l e x is t i n ghomes will be demolished tom ake w ay fo r new hom esaf ter his tor ic documentat ionis completed,” added Nolan.“A legal agr eemen t wasreached between Fort Belvoirand the Virginia S tate His-toric Preservation Office onwhat his tor ic homes would bere t a ined and w ha t t he gene r -al scope of renovations mayinclude.”

Fort Belvoir’s hist oric her-itage extends beyond housingas w e ll a t i t s ga t e s, a s i t i ssurrounded by numerous his-

toric sites such a s Mount Ver-non, Gunston Hal l and Wood-lawn P lantat ion.

Belvoir’s historic district

S evera l adm in i s t r a t i vebui ldings, housing neighbor-hoods and landmar ks consid-ered worthy of thei r preser-vat ion because of thei r ar chi-t ectu ra l s t y le , and uses andor ig ins , nom ina t ed and cer t i -fied by the Virginia Depart-ment of Historic Resources in1996.

According to Fort BelvoirH i sto r ian , G us t av P er son , theoriginal request for National

Landmark s ta t us was submit-ted by the architectural firmof Maar & Associates in 1992and was la ter amended byHarnsberger & Associates in1995-96.

“All th e buildings in t heHistor ic Dis t r ic t were con-s t ruc t ed dur ing the pe r iod1926-35 and encompassed theheadquar t e r s and academ icbui ldings for the engineers ch o ol , t w o la r g e b a r r a ck s

complexes that housed theengineer regiments on postan d both officers’ an d non-commissioned officers’ hous-i ng,” s a id P er s on . “T he sebuildings were built after theArmy spent at least $10 mil-lion to demolish most of theWorld War I buildings on t heinstallation.”

The Off icers and NCOClubs, a s ta t ion hospi ta l anda pe rm anen t e l em en ta ry

school were also constructed,added Person.

The homes encompassed inthe historic district come fromGerber , Belvoir, Jadwin Loop,Park and Rossel l Vi l lages .These homes were built in th e1930’s an d 1940’s design ed ina colonial revival s tyle toestablish links with the colo-nial past of Virginia, said Per-son.

As the RCI program isbeing implemented at For tBelvoir, the int ent is to utilizethe in stallat ion’s history byreta ining the homes in theh i s to r i c d i s t r i c t and thenmodeling the new homes afterthe old to contribute to theoriginal colonial revival char -acter of the early develop-m en t .

RCI renovations

Acc or d i n g t o N ol a n , t h eoriginal scope of the renova-

tions was negotiated with the

A rm y and ou t l i ned in t heCommunity Development andManagement P lan and deter-mined these uni ts a t mini-mum would require interiorrehabi l ita t ion, such as repairand upgrading of e lect r icaland p lum bing sys t em s andk i t chens and ba th room s , andadded closets.

C la rk P innac l e and i t sarchitects held resident focusgroups to unders tan d the pr i -

orities of the residents of thehomes in these villages, addedNolan, and da ta was compiledranking t he exis t ing res identsconcerns.

“Feedback included suchitems as poor air condition-ing, not enough closet space,excessive electrical work orders, old kitchens, no ceilingfa n s , e t c.,” s a id N ol a n. “O u rteam absorbed the feedback and developed a renovationplan that would address themost prevalent complaintsand help improve the qualityof l i fe for the renovatedhomes as best possible.”

Other exter ior rehabi l i ta-tion work will include maint e-nance on painted surfaces ,roofs, masonry and windows,with possible replacement of some windows and the land-scaping wi l l be maintained

and u pgraded, consis tent wi ththe historic landscape of theVillages.

A l l ex i s t i ng o r ig ina l

detai ls wi l l be re ta ined orreplaced in kind i f in deter io-rat ed condi t ion, and an effor tw i l l be m ade to r e s to reim por t an t de t a i l s t ha t havebeen los t ove r t he yea r s ,added Nolan.

Some houses wi l l beenlarged with rehabilitationwork such as th e placement of addi t ions , infi l l housing andgarages , according to Nolan.All of the ren ovations are con-

tinually reviewed to be surethe character of each villagehas n ot been adversely affect-ed by the change . C la rk P in -nacle has re ta ined RKtects , aprofessional h istoric architec-ture f irm, to complete a l l h is-toric design work and advisethe pa r tne r sh ip on S H P Ocoord ina t ion i s sues. In add i -tion all designs are coordina t-ed through the Fort BelvoirCultural Resources Managerwith the Depar tment of Pub-lic Works to mitigate adverseimpacts to the historic dis-trict.

“The new u nits will also besympathetic of the materialsand style of those in the his-toric corridor,” said Nolan. “Iti s not to imi ta te them, ratherso a distinction between thenew and h istoric unit s may bemade.”

C ur ren t r enova t ions a r eunderway in Belvoir Village.The scope includes a new gas

fired HVAC split system, newelectrical wiring and technol-ogy por ts , new ki tchens , reno-va t ed m as t e r ba th room s ,expanded m as t e r bedroomcloset, refinished wood floor-ing, bedroom ceiling fans anda clean coat of paint.

S im i l a r upgrades a r eplanned for the historic reno-vat ions that wi l l occur in

P a rk , Jadw in L oop and G er -ber Villages in the upcomingyears.

By Jennifer Albert



Appliances from housing on Rossell Loop await recycling.

Re novations ke e p to uch o f histo ry

Historic homes on Fort Belvoirwill be refurbished with new appli-ances and cabinetry for incoming

Soldiers and their families.



Americans are bombarded with infor-mation daily, and new informat ion tech-nology and services seem to spring upconstant ly. But when the informationimpacts daily life, people tend t o notice.

To communicate with Fort Belvoir

residents, the garr ison an d Fort BelvoirResidential Communities have adopteda mu ltimedia approach.

“We have quart erly newsletters, wekeep the Web page up to date and wehave all kinds of intermittent communi-cation,” said Dale Andrews, Clark Pin-

nacle investment ma nager. “There aremeetings with the mayors and on-site

managers , town ha l l mee t ings andthere is a welcome center for all of theneighborhoods.”

The Welcome Center is available to

residents with questions or concernsand new residents can take t ours of the

neighborhoods before moving to Fort

Belvoir,sa id Kim Lear, marketing direc-tor for Th e Villages a t Belvoir.

Lear also contributes to the Web site,

www.belvoirfamilyhousing.com, and th e

By Melina Rodriguez

It’s easy t o build homes on

a s t r i p of la n d , b u t w h en

Clark Pinnacle s igned on asthe Residential Communities

Initiative developer on FortBe lvoir , they wanted to do

more than tha t — they want-

ed to build communities for

Soldiers and their families.“When we looked at the

Army housing, we said, ‘Okay,

what ’s missing?’” said Ivan

Bolden, the Army’s Residen-

t ia l Communit ie s In i t ia t ive

p rog ra m ma n a g e r. “Wh a t ’s

missing is nice playgrounds;

what ’s missin g is tot lots ;

what ’s missin g is jogging

t ra i l s ; w h a t ’s mis sin g i s a

s en s e of com m u n it y. S o

instead of just building hous-

es on a s tr ip of land, we decid-ed to build it like a civilian

community.”

If you drive in Vernondale

or Lewis villages, you will not

only see new homes, but also

playgrounds, tot lots and com-

mon areas.

“The RCI process has

allowed for greater neighbor-

hood amenities , such as mod-

ern and conveniently located

playgrounds and ‘tot lots,’”said Bolden. “You can drive

through the new ne ighbor-

hoods almost anytime and see

kids pla ying.”

The goal of the RCI pro-gram was to give Soldiers the

same l i fes ty le on mil i ta ryinstallations as they would

have in civilian communities.On Fort Belvoir, new neigh-

borhoods have been built wit h

views of the golf course, com-munity centers and a soon-to-

be-opened t own center.“Inherent in a community

is a tot lot , jogging t ra i ls,

p l a yg rou n d e q u ip me n t , a n dwe wanted to provide that for

famil ies , so tha t’s wha t wedid,” Bolden said.

For the families living in

t h e v il la g es , t h e com m onareas offer a chance to meet

and get to know neighbors“You meet people that


BELVOIR EAGLEThe Belvoir Eagle is published in cooperation with the Public AffairsOffice, 9820 Flagler Road, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060.

For display and classified advertisement information, contactMike at 703-878-8007. Belvoir Eagle is a registered trademark.Circulation: 19,000.

Reproduction in whole or part without the permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.Advertising reservations are now being taken for the next issue of Belvoir Eagle , published everyThursday. Advertising deadline is Thursday, prior 4 p.m.

For classified advertising, call 703-368-0156.For home delivery of The Belvoir Eagle, p lease c all 703-369- 5556.

For Advertising information, please call:

Mike Stalter703-878-8007

BELVOIR EAGLE

New neighborhoods inspire

sense of community

Initiative builds mo re than ho m e s

By Jennifer Small

Tools help residents stay informed

S ee TOOLS , Pa ge C18


New housing has been designed to be child friendly with wide sidewalks, large streets and large enough green areas for organized sports.

S ee INITIATIVE , Pag e C21

C 0



Sgt. Ryan Tann on can’t str ess enoughthe importa nce of having rent er’s insur -ance.

A fire at his George Washington Vil-lage home in Ma rch 2005 engulfed mostof his family’s person al an d cherish ed

belongings. Fortuna tely, the family safe-ly evacuat ed.Now Tannon, his wife, Josie, and two

daugh ters live in Her ryford Village butthe memory of the fire still remains intheir home. A smoke-damaged brownmicro fiber couch sits in their livingroom, a salvaged item from the fire.

As Tannon sa t on t he couch , he

offered some a dvice: “You need to getyour own ren ter’s insu ran ce.”

Luckily, service members wh o moveint o Fort Belvoir’s residen tia l commun i-ties have pr ivate rent er’s insur ance cov-erage for property damage and theirpersonal items.

When Army housing transitioned to

p r ivat i zed hous ing Dec. 1 , 2003, theArmy required Fort Belvoir ResidentialCommunities, LLC, to provide a basicrent er’s insuran ce to all residents. Theinsura nce is covered by a percenta ge of the Basic Allowance for Housing FBRCreceives each month for rent, accordingto Tric Zyzyk, Vern ondale Village com-munity ma nager.

FBRC provides the insurance cover-age through Assurant Group at no addi-tional cost to th e residents. Each resi-dence is provided with a rent er’s insur -

ance policy of $5,000 in personal prop-erty and $25,000 in liability coverage,according Zyzyk.

“It’s t he s ecurit y of knowing if youever need it — it’s at no cost to you,”Zyzyk said. “It’s a security blank et th atyou don’t r ealize is th ere.”

When the residents move in, Assur-ant Group sends them information an doptions for addit ional coverage.The res-idents cannot cancel the insur ance poli-cies because th ey come with t he h omes.However, the resident s can opt for addi-

tional options or other insuranceproviders, according to Zyzyk.“Your personal insu ran ce takes

precedence over the one we provide,”Zyzyk said.

Assurant Group covers 16 perils:f ire / lightening, windstorm or hai l,e xp los ion s , r i ot s , a i rcr a ft s , v eh i cl es ,smoke damage, vandalism, theft, fallingobjects; weight of ice, snow sleet; acci-dental discharge of water and steam;

sudden or accidental tearing apart,cracking, burning or bulging; freezing,power outages and volcanic eruptions,according to the Assurant Group policy.

If residents n eed to file claims, theyshould contact the insurance companyto report the losses. Residents can fileclaims with t he Assurant Group by call-ing th e compa ny’s customer service cen-t e r a t (800) 852-2244, ext . 35752 ,between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

If residents need further assistance,they should call their community man-ager, Zyzyk said.

Vandalism, power outages and firesare all perils tha t left Fort Belvoir resi-dents filing insur ance claims, accordingto Zyzyk.

For th e Tann ons, the $5,000 coveragefor per sonal losses was not enough.

“It d oesn’t begin t o scrape th e sur faceof what you need,”Tann on said.

The money did cover the cost of buy-ing beds for the children, a dresser forhis dau ghter and clothes for the family.Yet, Tannon can’t ima gine how costlythe losses would ha ve been without the


www.clarkpinnacle.com

We are proud to welcome you home.

By Jennifer Brennan

A le sson le arnedRenter’s insurance proves beneficial

S ee LESSON , Pa ge C15



July 20, 2006 C 13Welcome Home -- A special supplement to the Belvoir EagleJuly 20, 2006C 12



C ont inued f r om P age C 11

“I’m loving the size,”she added.When complete, the communit y

will boast 274 homes, a neighbor-hood center with a greet roomand management and mainte-nance offices.

The Kirkland’s learned inApril that they would move intotheir new home in July.Theyreceived the keys to their newhouse about 2 1/2 weeks beforethe moving companycame to pack up theirbelongings for t heshort ride from Fair-fax to Lewis.

“We had an advan-tage,”acknowledgedKenley, a 12 1/2 yearArmy veteran who iscurrently a pilot with12th Aviation Battal-ion.“We brought itemssuch as pictures overand got them on thewall before the moverscame.”

Casey Nolan,pr oject

director for Fort BelvoirResidential CommunitiesLLC,sa id residents arenormally notified eight to12 weeks in advance of theirmoving date.FBRC alsoholds a town hall style meet-ing with resident s of villagessuch as Fairfax that are slat-ed for demolition at which itcommunicates schedule andmoving logistics in-formation.When the initial residents of Lewis Village were n otified thatthey would be moving,no homeswere complete for them to look at,Nolan said.

“However,since the architec-ture and floor plans are similarfor all the new homes,familiescan drive through the existingnew villages (Herryford,Vernon-dale and n ow Lewis) to get a feelfor the neighborhood design,”he

said.

Amodel

homeabove the

FBRC Wel-come Cen-

ter exempli-fied the typi-

cal finishesand layout of the new homes,Nolan contin-ued.

“For resident sthat have not

been relocatedto Lewis yet,

Pinnaclecan show

familiescomplet-edhomes,”he

added.According

to FBRC InvestmentManager Dale Andrews,a ll of therelocation moves for families inthe pat h of demolition have beenproject paid moves,mea ning thatFBRC pays 100 percent of thepacking and moving for all of theitems in the home. The paid movecovers the cost of a move withinBelvoir or if th e resident choosesto move off the installationinstead of moving into a newhome. Residents can also choose

to move items themselves, but the

moving company is contracted t odo the full move and insura nce isprovided.

Andrews said it has been agreat experience to relocate fami-lies from homes that a re fivedecades old into new and morespacious quarters.

“We look forward to providing th esame to the field grade and compa-ny grade families from Rossell andFairfax Villages,”she said.

Nolan said nine t o 12 months of site work occurs after the demoli-tion of an old home to get thelocation ready for new home con-struction.

“This involves mass grading,installation of new water andstorm water systems and roadinstallation,”h e said.“The site isprepped to fine grade and con-crete pads are poured for the newhomes.After a num ber of the con-crete pads are completed, verticalconstruction commences.Fra mingcrews,roofing and the exteriorskin work commences.”

Once the roof is on and thehouse is closed in, Nolan said the

unit is t ypically completed within16 weeks.

“From the time the first oldhome comes down to a new homebeing completed, it typically takes18-24 months depending on siteconditions and weath er,”he said.

Crews salvage cabinets, appli-ances and mechanical parts of equipment that may be used inother existing homes after residentsvacate homes that are slated fordemolition,sa id Eddie Hudspeth,Pinnacle Maintenance Director.

“Some of the old applian ces areput aside for use in t he olderunits,”he explained. “They canalso be used as loaners in newconstruction.”

At Rossell Village, FBRC alsoallowed the inst allation’s Direc-torate of Public Works and otherpartner organizations and resi-dents to transplant existing

shrubs for their use.

Extreme Makeover

F o r t B e l v o i r S t y l e

The Kirkland family moved from Fairfax Village into this Lewis Village home this month. The timebetween the demolition of the first old home in a village to the time the first new home is complete is

typically 18 to 24 months.

ABOVE: Framing is under way on new homes in Cedar Grove Village.

RIGHT: A worker puts up exterior walls on a Cedar Grove Village home. Onceexterior walls and roof are in place, a home takes about 16 weeks to complete.

ABOVE: CWO2 Kenley Kirkland of the 12th Aviation Batta lion checks his e-mai l as he directs moversbringing items into his Lewis Village home.

LEFT (CUTOUT): A mover carries boxes into the Kirkland’s new home. The Kirklands’ move from Fairfax toLewis Village was entirely paid for by FBRC.

C 14



Fort Belvoir’s n ew Town

Center will bring the militarycommunity here something noother Army installa tion hasever h ad.

“The new town center is thefirst mixed-use developmentincorporating AAFES retail intothe Residential CommunitiesInitiative,” said Casey Nolan,project director, Fort BelvoirResidential Communities. “Theconcept was to integrate the newhousing with retail tenants andthe Clark Pinnacle WelcomeCenter. Mixed-use town centersare a common practice in theprivate mar ket and accepted bylocal commu nities.”

There are three phases inthe town center project, withthe first and second alreadycomplete, according to Nolan,who works in the developmentand construction of the newhousing.

“The first phase of the towncenter was completed in Octo-

ber 2005,” Nolan sa id. “The 25residential units on the secondand third floors along 12thStreet were completed and 24units were leased within twoweeks to both enlist ed and offi-cer families. One unit has beenretained as the model home forpotential residents.”

Many of the families livingin the units ar e already settledin and enjoying the benefits.

“It’s convenient to th e cloth ing

store and the post exchange,”said Sgt. Amie Butcher,who is an

administrative assistant in thePenta gon’s Hu man ResourcesCenter.

Butcher lives in a three bed-

room residentia l unit. Her twodaughters are currently awayat college and return homeperiodically on brea ks.

The second phase of the t owncenter was completed in J anu-ary 2006 when the Clark Pin-nacle Welcome Center openedfor business.

“We relocated all t he pr oper-ty ma nagement leasing special-ists, community director and aResidential Community liaison

office referral office to thebuilding with the clock toweron 12th Street,” said Nolan.“Now the future and existingresidents have a central loca-tion on post within one of thenew villages to go and addresstheir housing needs.”

Staff Sgt. Jason Carter, whoworks at U.S. Army Intelligenceand Security Comman d, his wifeIvy and their daughter J aelyn,3,have lived in a new residentialunit since November 2005.

“I love it becaus e it’s quietand safe,” said Ivy, who is anArmy veteran who works atDewitt Army Community Hos-pital as a medical clerk in phys-ical ther apy.

Ivy is also looking forward t othe day spa that will be includ-ed in the third phase of thetown center.

The third phase of the towncenter is the AAFES compo-nent which will consist of 11

stores including a Starbucks,GNC and a Rent-A-Center, said

Trini Saucedo, general mangerat the Fort Belvoir Exchange.

“Much of the community isexperiencing th is very sam e con-

cept right outside of our owninstallation and they really lovethe convenience of residentialliving above retail s tores,”Sauce-do said. “It’s all about time andconvenience and this will defi-nitely serve th e needs of both.”

“I th ink it’s a wonderfulidea,”s aid Kelly Clements, whowill be a foreman, shift super-visor at the new Starbucks.“Starbucks is going to come inand teach us so that we are cer-

tified baristas.”Clar k Pinn acle’s developmentteam an d architect,Torti Gallas,came together to create the“main street” atmosphere. Theyenvisioned having a mixed useelement to bring the commu nitytogether, said Nolan.

“The complete town centerrepresents an integrated mix of residentia l, re tail and officeuses tha t will enable residentsto walk from their homes,address housing issues andenjoy a cup of coffee in onetrip,” Nolan. “Creating a new‘main str eet’ with excitingretail uses will strengthen thecore of the South Post t hat nowhas 415 new homes.”

At this point the Rent-A-Center is operational and cos-tum ers can call (703) 781-3985for service and the Sta rbucks isexpected to open around July24, said Saucedo.

The grand opening for the

Town Center is scheduled forlate August.

By Melina Rodriguez


Fort Belvoir’s new town center is the Army’s first mixed-use residential and retail development.


FBRC’s spacious welcome center provides information and serv-ices to new and current residents.

Town center is Army’s first mixed-used development

‘Main Stre e t’ living

The Starbucks interior has a warm and welcoming feel withmuted tones and large comfortable furniture.

J l 20 2006 C 15W l H A i l l h B l i E l




ALMOST 5,000 Sq. Ft.,2 Yrs Old, 4bed/4bath

Gourmet Kitchen w/ StainlessSteel Appliances, CorianCounters, Double Oven,

Cooktop, Fireplace, FinishedBasement, Media Room,Study, HUGE! $499,000

Forest Park Location, 3BR,2 Full & 2 Half Baths

VERY ROOMY! Fin. Bsmt, GasFP, Fen. yard, Sunroom, Eat-in

Kit, Oversized Rec Room .$340,000

Woodbridge Side ofManassas off Hoadly Road

Large AdditionTwo Full Kitchens, 6

Bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms,In-Law Suite w/Separate

entrance. Lg. Pool Screendeck, hot tub, ½ Acre.

$485,900

Large Brick 3 Bed/1.5 BathEnd TH in Cul-de-Sac.

Best Location On The Court,Custom Landscaping, SeveralUpgrades, Located in Centerof Woodbridge, Must See!

$309,900

Old Bridge Estates -Lake Ridge Area

3 Bed/3.5 bath TownhouseBacks to trees, Cul-de-sac,

New Carpeting, Three FinishedLevels, 2-level Deck, FP,Fenced yard. $350,000 Only 6 years old! 3 Bed/3.5

Bath in SouthbridgeDouble-Stacked Bay Windows,

90% Fini. Bsmt., HardwoodFloors, Cul-de-Sac Location,

Cathedral Ceilings,$448,000

Call Jonathan Today!

Office: 703-649-0920Cell: 703-402-0488

IT ’S ALL ABOUT YOU!For Virtual Tours & Pics Visit

www.LockSells.com

post’s help.Following the fire, FBRC relocated

the family to a hospitality suite. The

American Red Cross, the Army Relief Fund , George Washington Village, Tan-non’s u nit, Echo Compan y, 302d Sig Bn.;and former installation CommandSergeant Major Andre’ Douglas t eamedup t o lend support t o the family.

“Clark Pinn acle really, really helpedus out a lot,”Tannon said.

Zyzyk recommends residents takeout more insura nce for special needs, if they anticipate $5,000 will not be

enough coverage for their personalitems. An example of a special needwould a TV that exceeds the value of $5,000, she said.

Zyzyk also recommends liabilityinsu rance , w hich can be ob t a inedthrough Assurant Group or the resi-dent ’s car ins ur an ce compa ny.

Tannon said many people think “nothing’s ever gonn a’ ha ppen t o me.”He too had t he same th oughts prior to

the fire.Fol lowing the fi re , the Tannons

sought additional ren ter’s insur ancewith their a uto insura nce company, All-State.

Needless to say, the ent ire experiencewas “definitely a lesson learn ed,” hesaid.

LESSONCont inu ed f rom Page C10 Find what you’ve been looking for at

Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union!

We think You’re Worth It!

FTBFCU will give you

*Please present ad when applying. $100 will be deposited into checking account after first direct deposit

is made. Offer applies to new members only. Not valid with any other offer. Account must remain openfor 3 months, otherwise member forfeits the $100 incentive.Offer ends 08/31/2006. Loan discount does

not include Real Estate or VISA loans/applications. Contact us for details.

Visit us today!We’re located on South Post, inside the Commissary and in Mount

Vernon Plaza or online at www.ftbfcu.org!

Apply for a consumer loan through Belvoir Online Banking (BoB)

and FTBFCU will give you a 0.50% discount!*

We’re here to serve your needs anytime!

100*

703.730.1800 www.f tbfcu.org

when you open a checking account

with Direct Deposit!

$

Soldiers with familymembers here a t For tBelvoir are not the onlypeople who can takeadvantage of privatizedhousing.

Select single servicemembers and geographi-cal bachelors are also eli-

gible for h omes, Villagesat Belvoir MarketingDirector Kim Lear sa id.

Single service mem-bers with the rank of E-6and above, a long wi thgeographical bachelor,r ega rd le s s of r ank, a r eeligible for one of Wood-lawn Village’s two-bed-r oom, 1 ba th , 1,500-square foot homes, Learsaid.

Service members havethe choice of living alone

at their full Basic Hous-ing Allowance rate orwith a roommate for half

of their BAH, Lear said.Soldiers who chose to

have a roommate, but areno t a ss igned one , s t i llonly pay the one-half BAH ra te.

For more information,or to apply for a home, eli-gible Soldiers can speak with a family housingconsultant at the Wel-come Cent er, visit the Vil-

lages at Belvoir Web siteat villagesatbelvoir.comor call (703) 454-9700.

Unaccompanied Soldiers eligible for homesBy Chad Jones

July 20 2006C 16 Welcome Home A special supplement to the Belvoir Eagle




REFLECTIONSOF HEROES

W e S alute T heir S erviceW e S alute T hei r S ervice

MAIL TO:

P.O. Box 2470Woodbridge,VA 22195-2470

IF PICKED UP:

$24.95 ea. plus 1.25 tax = $26.20 x number of books . . . . . . . . _____ _____

I will pick up my copy at: (circle one )

WOODBRIDGE MANASSAS

IF MAILED:

$24.95 ea. plus $3.95 priority mail plus

$1.45 tax = $30.35 x number of books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ _____

credit card number

signature for credit card orders only

PAYMENT METHOD

❑ Check ❑ Moneyorder ❑ AmEx ❑ Visa

❑ MasterCard ❑ Discover

Please make checks payable to

the Potomac News expiration date

Name

Address

City State Zip

Phone

Order your copy today by using this form.

NO. OF

BOOKS TOTAL

2 0 04

BE S T IN

SHO W V IRG IN IA P

RE S S

A S SOC IA T ION

2 0 04

BE S T IN

SHO W V IRG IN IA P

RE S S

A S SOC IA T ION

A limited number of books are available for sale at the

following locations:

Potomac New s

14010 Smoketown Rd.

Woodbridge

Manassas Journal Messenger9009 Church St.

Manassas

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9am to 4pm

In war and in peace, the people of PrinceWilliam County, Manassas, ManassasPark, Stafford County, Ft. Belvoir

and the surrounding areas, senttheir beloved sons, daughters,husbands, wives, mothers,fathers, sisters and brothers toserve their country.

In our second book, Reflections of

Heroes, we feature the lives of our bravemen and women and the momentos of theirmilitary lives.

Pick upyour copy of this

award-winning bookfor only

$2495 + tax




Their m otto is “Building Communi-t i es” and C la rk P innac le has t akenthat motto quite li terally by not onlybuilding communities for the resi-dents of Fort Belvoir, but by integra t-ing them selves into the community.

“Ever since the beginning when wes t a r t ed w ork ing on th i s , t hey havesaid ‘We will not be bu ilding hou ses,we will be building communities,’”said Bil l Parsons , di rector of For tBelvoir Morale, Welfare and Recre-ation. “Their whole att i tude of giving

back to the community really rein-forces th at.”

Every year s ince 2004,Clark P inn a-cle ha s given back to th e Fort Belvoircommuni ty in a big way — throughtheir an nual char i ty golf tournament ,held at the North Post Golf Course.T he tou rnam ent r a i se s m oney fo rselected Fort Belvoir organizations.

In th e f irs t year of the tournament ,$42,000 was raised and split equallybetween th e Fort Belvoir Boy and GirlScouts.

Last year the second edition of theClark Pinnacle Charity Golf Classicraised nea rly $114,000 that was beingspl i t between For t Belvoir YouthSports and the Belvoir chapter of Army Emer gency Relief (Funds).

“That money helped t remendously,”said Jerr y Arr ington, di rector of For tBelvoir Youth Sport s. “We’ve been ableto do new things for the programs t hatwe didn’t h ave in our budget.”

Arrington said the donation nearlydoubled the Youth Sport s yearly budg-e t , and a l l ow ed h im to buy ex t r aequipment for all of the programs,from Smart St art to youth football .

“That char itable donation has givenme the leverage to spend money thatwe didn’t ha ve, on al l of our pr o-grams,” he said.

This year Clark Pinnacle has cho-sen th ree new recipients for th e dona-tions raised from the golf tournament— the For t Belvoir chapter of theU ni t ed S erv i ces O rgan iza t ions , t he

Fort Belvoir Family Life Center andthe Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund, a local char i ty in the D.C. areathat provides col lege grants andfinancial assistance to the survivingchildren and spouses of U.S. militaryservice members killed in Iraq andAfghanistan.

“This year we selected three newbeneficiaries, with the intent to touchas many people and organizations aspossible ,” said Casey Nolan, projectdirector for Clar k Pin nacle.

This year’s ann ual Clark P inna cleCha rit y Golf Class ic will tak e place onAug. 10.

“We have high hopes this year ; nomat ter what we ra ise , i t wi ll be greatfor t he community,” Nolan said.

Nolan sa id that the main sources of

fundraising for the tournament comefrom members of the Fort Belvoir Res-ident ia l Communi t ies team, from thearchi tects t o the contractors a nd su p-pliers.

In an effort to further assimilateinto the For t Belvoir communi ty, theClark P innacle team ha s par t icipatedin int ramu ral spor ts on post .

“Clark Pinn acle put t ogether a t eamfor t he int ra mural basketbal l league,and though we might not have beenthe best team on the cour t , we cer-ta inly t r ied hard and had a great t imeparticipating in one of the great pro-grams on Fort Belvoir,”Nolan said.

On Fort Belvoir Clark Pin nacle hasaccomplished their vision of not onlybu i ld ing, bu t becoming pa r t of, t henew Fort Belvoir commu nity, thr oughparticipation as well as donations.

“Clearly, their contribut ions demon-st ra te thei r commitment to the com-munity and their desire to become apar t of the communi ty, not jus t inname, but by t ruly s tepping forward,beyond building houses, to live up tothe philosophy t hey’ve had all along of ‘building commun ities,’” Parsons said.

By Jennifer Small

July 20, 2006 C 17Welcome Home A special supplement to the Belvoir Eagle

Clark Pinnac le e m brace s Be lvo ir co m m unity

Steph Claude chips up to the 11th holeto help Complete Landscaping Servicesmake their par during last year’s Clark

Pinnacle Charity Golf Classic. The eventraised $114,000 for Fort Belvoir YouthSports and Army Emergency Relief.

File photos Clark Pinnacle employees take to the court against HHC Special Activities duringlast year’s intramural basketball program.

An Educated Homeowner…Becomes A Satisfied Homeseller

If youre planning to Sell your home in the next twelve

months, you must attend

Bob Hummers

FREE HOME

SELLER SEMINAR

Call For Monthly Schedule!

Strayer University13385 Minnieville Road Woodbridge, VA 22192

Intersection of Caton Hill & Minnieville Roads, just past Home Depot

703-878-HUMMwww.military-realestate.com

Reduced Closing Costs, Free credit report, andComprehensive reference material. No questions

will be left unanswered! No obligation.




July 20, 2006C 18 Welcome Home A special supplement to the Belvoir Eagle

Clark Pinnacle and FortBelvoir have a policy when itcomes to taking care of MotherEarth and building new homesfor service members: For everytree that ’s removed, another isplanted.

“I’m proud to say of the vil-lages designed and under con-struction to date, we actuallyplan to be 2,000 trees ahead,”said Casey Nolan, Clark Pinna-cle project director.

This means that Clark Pin-nacle is projected to add 2,000

more trees than originallyexisted throughout all the vil-lages by the end of the InitialDevelopment Period in 2011.

Trees provide shade, con-serve energy and improve airquali ty, said Pete Waas, For tBelvoir Directorate of PublicWorks natural resource spe-cialist and program managerfor land m anagement and pestmanagement.

In a decade, the t rees that

are planted now will be moremature a nd larger, Nolan said.

Yet, for th e first 10 years of the t rees’ lives,t hey will providemore aesthetic benefits thanshade.A tree must be at least 15years old before it can producethe sh ading benefits,Waas said.

To make the best decisionswhen it comes to tree preserva-tion, Clark Pinnacle has a t reeconsultant who advises thecompany of what trees to save

based on age, health and loca-tion within the village. Clark

Pinn acle’s tree sa ving practicesinclude transplanting treesfrom older villages to newer vil-lages, increasing the num ber of trees that can be saved andimplementing a new preserva-tion plan that involves assess-ing the health of each tree,Nolan said.

It costs about $25,000 to pre-s er v e on e t r ee . T h e cos tincludes manpower hours,additional site work needed tobuild around th e tree, ongoingmaint enan ce and redirection of utility lines around the tree.More than $500,000 was spenton tree pr eservation in Vernon-

dale Village, Nolan said.But every tr ee’s value mu st be

considered, according t o Waas.“You have to look at the long

term benefits and values the treeprovides,” Waa s said. “You don’twant to spend a lot of money ona tr ee that ’s borderline as far ashealth and condition go.”

The trees tha t aren ’t savedin place are torn down andturned into mulch, moved toother neighborhoods or to the

t ree farm. The t ree farm iswhere uprooted trees are plant -ed and preserved until replant-ed. But according to Nolan, “itmakes a lot more sense to justput it in its final location.”

Waas approves of the treefarm, noting that transplantingtrees doesn’t hur t th em.

In taking a look across thepost, dominant species includebeech, red and white oak, hick-ory and gum, Waas said.

Some trees stood prior tothe es tabl ishment of Camp

H u m ph r ey s in 1 9 18 . T heolder , more mature t rees canbe foun d in t he post’s hist oricne ighborhoods , accord ing toWaas.

“When you’re looking at atree t hat ’s almost 75 or 100years old, it’s almost irreplace-able when it comes t o long ter mbenefits,”Waas sa id.

In fact, a matur e oak tree canrelease 260 poun ds of oxygen peryear. In comparison, an averageperson consumes 386 pounds of oxygen per year, Waas said.

“It might take 30 or 40 youngtrees to provide the sa me amountof oxygen per year,”Waas said.

Since Clark Pinnacle beganbuilding and renovating homesfor service members, the com-pany’s saved man y trees,according to Nolan.

“Both Vernondale and CedarGrove represent the largestefforts to save trees in place,”Nolan s aid.

Vernondale started out with300 trees and quadrupled itsnumber to 1,200. Cedar Grovehad 175 trees and should have

600, Nolan said.Lewis Heights was torn

down a nd r ebuilt as Lewis Vil-lage, going from 600 trees to1,000, according t o Nolan.

Rossell Village started outwith 550 and about 60 trees areprojected to be saved in place.

“In t he l ong t e rm , w e’reactually improving the envi-ronment here as a par t of building the new housing,”Nolan said. “A lot of people

don’t realize the efforts we’vebeen u ndertaking.”

Clark Pinnacle strives to preserve trees while building new homes

By Jennifer Brennan

Photo by Marny Malin New trees line Lewis Village’s streets on Fort Belvoir.

quar t e r ly news let t e r, w h ichgives up -to-date information t oresidents on commun ity eventsand issues.

The ins ta l la t ion comman-der’s r es ident ia l town h al lmeetings also serve as a wayto communicate wi th res i -dents . Held three t imes annu-ally, these meetings are opento all residents. According toFort Belvoir’s Director of Pub -lic Affairs Don Carr, town ha llmeetings provide residents t heopportunity to hear directlyfrom the ins ta l la t ion com-

m and abou t p rogram s andissues affecting their everydayl ives. T he ins t a l la t i on com -

m and t eam , base opera t i onsdirectors, support service man-

agers and representat ivesfrom FBRC are on h and t o pro-v ide i n fo rm a t ion , and eachmeeting ends with a questionand a nswer period that a llowsresidents to voice their con-cerns.

“Town ha ll meetings n ot onlyallow us to put information out,but they allow us to gathervaluable information as well,”Carr said. “They allow the deci-sion makers on the base opera-tions staff to hear what we’redoing well and what we coulddo better. They also allow us toaddress misperceptions andstop the r umor mill.”

Carr sa id one of the inst alla-tion’s most important commu-

nication tools is delivereddirectly to every home on posteach Thur sday.

“The Belvoir Eagle is theflagship of our communicationseffort,” Carr said. “It exists toprovide news and informationto the total Fort Belvoir audi-ence, including our housingresidents, and t o provide two-way communication betweenthe command and the commu-

nity.”On a lower level, commun ity

managers also communicatewith resident s by using fliers.

“We use the fliers forreminders of resident responsi-bilities and pool regulations,”said Tric Zyzyk, who managesHerryford, River an d Vernon-dale villages. “Everybody needsto be rem inded periodically.”

Residents are also notifiedwhen contracted employees

wil l be in thei r homes. Forexample, contra ctors recentlycame to homes in Vernondale

Village to upgrade th e comput -erized lock system, said Zyzyk,and the res idents wereinformed by hand deliverednotifications.

In addition to all of these

resources, the ma yors of eachvillage organize communityevents and write a monthly

newsletter.“We are the information

highway for our villages,” saidM onica K e ll ey, Vernonda lecommunity village mayor.

The newsletters contain a

variety of information on sub- jects such as self-help andevents.

Community managers

Tric Zyzyk: River,H erryford & Ver-

nondale villages, (703) 781-7280

Rebecca Reiter: Belvoir, Rossell,

Jadwin, Fairfax, Gerber & Lewis

villages, (703) 781-4833

Joi Gatling: Dogue Creek, Colyer &

Park villages, (703) 781-0596Tonja Faggins: Woodlawn Village,

(703) 781-0566

Other housing contacts

Mary Bronwyn: FBRC, (703) 454-

9723

Vicki Davis: RCLO, (703) 805-3568

Other contacts/sources

Commander’s Hotline: (703) 805-

2442, [email protected] y.mil

Belvoir Information Line: (703)

805-3030

On the Web

FBRC:

www.belvoirfamilyhousing.com

Fort Belvoir: www.belvoir. ar my.mil

Who to contactTOOLSCont inu ed f rom Page C9



July 20, 2006C 2 0 Welcome Home -- A special supplement to the Belvoir Eagle



The Patriot of Northern

Virginia is committed to localnews for and about the

military and their families.

Active duty and retired military

readers will enjoy news and

advertising information that isrelevant and useful to their lives.

in your mailbox or in racks!

The Patriot of Northern Virginia is published by Media General

Operations Inc., publishers of Potomac News, Manassas Journal

Messenger, Culpeper Star-Exponent, Stafford County Sun, Belvoir Eagle and other publications serving the Northern Virginia market.

Would you

like to receive

Look for

in your mailbox

every Thursday?

Simply fill out this form and mail to:

The PATRIOT of Northern Virginia

P.O. Box 2470

Woodbridge, VA 22195Name:____________________________________________________

Phone Number:___________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Email Address:_____________________________________________

FREE!

INTRODUCING

PICPICKK ANDAND CCHOOSE!HOOSE!We Work with Military Families with Any Needs: Buying,Renting, Selling or Simply Understanding the Options!

HerHere are ar e some of oure some of ourprproperoper ties near Ft. Bel ties near Ft. Bel v v oir!oir!

Belmont Bay $549,900County Center $324,900

Occoquan Point$389,900

Belmont Bay

$439,900

AbsoluteEach office is independently owned and operated

Greg Johnson703-497-8800

Greg Johnson is your sourcefor housing near Fort Belvoir

Amy Varela, Realtor, Military Relocation Specialist. 703-203-2112

851 GLEBE RD N ,

ARLINGTON

$385,000Elegant Larger 1BR UnitAt The Continental.Chef's Kitchen W-Granite. HardwoodFloors. BuildingAmenities Include FullHealth Club, Pool,Theater, Much More!Metro And Shopping!

13845 MEADOWBROOK RD.

WOODBRIDGE $324,9003 BR, 1 BA. Big Country Kitchen w- Tile Counters andFloors.Gleaming Hardwoods in Living Room. Locationnear shopping and transit. Room to grow your homeand your equity! Closing Cost Help Available.

12935 REESE CT.

WOODBRIDGE$305,000

Closing Help Possible!3 BR,2.5 BA. Hot tuband high-end waterpurifier included! Greatcommunity includesprivate pool, muchmore. One YearWarranty included!Here's a chance togrow your equity!

11794 COTTON MILL DR.

WOODBRIDGE $449,900Lake Ridge Beauty with gleaming red oak hardwoods,many upgrades. Newer deck and screen porch over-looks trees. Express Bus to Pentagon almost at door! 4BR, 3 BA, Fireplace.

www.FinestHouses.com

July 20, 2006 C 2 1Welcome Home -- A special supplement to the Belvoir Eagle



you’ve never kn own before ,” sa idDiane Payne, a r esident of Lewis Vil-

lage. “The playground with t he soccerfield is great, because it’s big and th e

k ids a ll p lay the re , and for the pa r-ents , you get to meet and talk while

the kids are playing.”

The layout of the homes, as well asthe exis tence of common areas, have

allowed residents to get to know each

other.“This housing is grea t, it’s so nice,”

Payne said. “The sense of community

tha t we have , with the houses being

connected and sharing driveways, it

really helps you get to know your

neighbors.”Bolden said th e Army is happy with

the resu l ts , and has got ten posi t ive

feedback from the residents.

“Across the portfolio, families a rehappy,” Bolden said. “All I know is

that I can s tand in front of a mirrorand a sk myself ‘Has your pr ogram

improved the quality of life for our

Soldiers and t heir fam ilies?’ and Iknow that answer is a resounding

yes.”“All we wanted to do was give Sol-

diers the same high quality of life asthe people they have p ledged todefend,”Bolden said.

INITIATIVE

Cont inu ed f rom Page C9


Lewis Village’s new playground allows mothers to sit as their children play.


A ton of bricks Clark Pinnacle has laid more than 25 miles of sidewalk around Fort Belvoir’s new housing villages. They’ve used more than 73,000 bricks weighing 400,000pounds, which is the equivalent of 100,000 adult elephants. They’ve also used more than 4,200 miles of lumber to build Fort Belvoir’s 584 new homes. That isapproximately the distance from here to Disneyland in California and back.




There’s a New Town Center in Your Area!

“The Village Commons at Belvoir”

Grand OpeningWednesday, August 23rd, 2006

10:00am

There’s a New Town Center in Your Area!

“The Village Commons at Belvoir”

Grand OpeningWednesday, August 23rd, 2006

10:00am

greens.“It’s t he first of its kind in th e Army,”

said Bolden. “We’ve built th e types of

homes and communities that are inhigh demand in the surrounding com-munities off the installation.”

This design led to anoth er Army first :

an international charter award forexcellence in u rban design and develop-ment awarded by the Congress for theNew Urbanism, a Chicago-based non-profit organization who teaches theprinciples of New Urbanism.

Additionally, in 2005, Fort Belvoir’shousing won a Gold Award in the

Nat ional Association of Home Builders’Best in American Living Awards Pro-gram . This competit ion recognizes homedesign and construction that exempli-

fies design, quality, success in the mar-ketplace and the best of American liv-ing.

“The best part is the significantincrease in the pr ide the Soldiers havewith their h ome and commun ity,” saidBolden. “Soldiers a re absolutely delight-ed and s imply can’t believe they are

moving into a brand new home.”

Fort Be lvoir privatization

and Soldiers

The Army’s Fam ily Housing programis considered to be a major incent ive forrecruiting and retaining dedicated indi-viduals in the Army; therefore, main-taining and sustaining attractive, safeand convenient housing for Soldiers an dtheir families is a priority.

Accordin g to Vicki Davis, Fort Belvoir

housing man agement specialist, BelvoirRCI is a success and has been wellreceived by the Soldiers and familymember s eligible to live here.

“The majority ar e ecsta tic about theirnew homes,”explained Davis, “especial-ly those that have lived in older housingon Fort Belvoir.”

Davis said that many service mem-bers are now coming from installationswith an RCI program, but she still getsa lot of “good job Army” from t hose newarr ivals that a ren’t as familiar.

Sergeant 1st Class Chris Woolley of Fort Belvoir’s 249th Engineer Batt alion

said the new housing was a decidingfactor on whether or not to stay in theArmy longer.

“The im proved living conditions were33.3 percent of our decision t o stay pas t20 years,” said Woolley. “We are verypleased with the housing.”

Woolley also said the new housing

has changed the way he and h is familystay connected with family and friends.“With the larger house and decent

yard, we are able to have visitors stayfor several days without feelingcram ped,” said Woolley.

One of the challenges, however, hasbeen maintaining the existing homesthat are either awaiting demolition oridentified as historically sensitive.

“Maintaining existing homes hasalways been a challenge, even beforep r i va t i za t i on ,” s a i d D a vi s. “As aresu l t , one o f the most s ign if ican t

challenges of the RCI program hasbeen marketing the existing homesprior to renovation or replacement,given that the Soldiers choose to livein the h ousing. While it is mu ch quick-e r than t rad i t iona l MILCON, i t canstill take u p to 10 years to renovate orreplace all of the h omes.”

Privatized housing and RCI is anovera l l success bo th he re a t For tBelvoir and Army-wide, said Davis.She said t here is an excellent workingre la t ionsh ip wi th the Be lvo ir RCI

part ners an d subsequently, life is a loteasier in the world of housing here.

ROADCont inu ed f rom Page C5

Photo by Marny Malin Workers paint the doors of new homes in Lewis Village.

July 20, 2006 C 2 3Welcome Home -- A special supplement to the Belvoir Eagle



Everyday Rebecca Reiter makes a todo list, but she rar ely finishes it. Reiteris a community manager at FortBelvoir and every day is a differentexperience.

“There is always a new challenge,”said Reiter. “No day is the same.”

Reiter oversees the homes in Fair-fax, Gerber, Lewis, Belvoir and JadwinLoop villa ges.

“I make sur e the Soldiers are t akencare of by making sure work ordersand service request s get done,” Reitersaid.

After making her to do list Reiterbegins to call resident s to follow up onwork orders or to address complaints.

Reiter began workin g at Fort Belvoirin December 2003 with the implemen-tat ion of privatized housing. She is oneof four community managers that over-see housing on Fort Belvoir.

These managers make sure that res-idents have a smooth t ransition to andfrom Fort Belvoir and they overseemaintenance crews to make sure thatproblems are addressed in a timelymanner.

“I love my job,” said Reiter. “It givesme the opportunity to work with andmeet great individuals, families andSoldiers, who sacrifice so much for u s.It ’s an honor.”

Reiter helps residents to transitioninto their homes by answering ques-

tions a nd explain ing policies.“[Reiter] is very helpful,” said Cha n-

n e l Sa n d ers , a s si st a n t ma n a g er toReiter. “When ther e is somebody thatneeds help there is no limit t o what shewill do. She is t he go-to person.”

Reiter deals with residents everyday and will go to many lengths tomake them happy, said Sanders.

“I t hink good cust omer service is thebackbone to and most important aspectof this project,” Reiter said. “We str iveevery day to provide everybody withexceptional service.”

You can never judge a book by itscover, especially Ruth Belk.

Belk , a th in woman with longblack hair, is a maintenance tech-nician here a t Fort Belvoir. She isthe only female on her crew of approximately seven that main-ta ins Herryford , Vernonda le and

River villages.“The work itself is interesting,”

said Belk. “It’s surpr ising what youcan pull out of a drain.”

Recently, Belk pulled a plasticSponge Bob figur ine out of a toilet. Shecalled the t enant and ask ed, “Where’sPat rick?” Pat rick is Sponge Bob’s bestfriend on th e children’s cartoon ent i-tled SpongeBob Squar ePants.

“The challenges make you testyour sk ills,”Belk said. “It m akes youadapt.”

On any given day Belk repairs air

conditioning units, faulty appliancesand leaks and t hat’s just naming afew of her abilities.

“I’m a jack of all tr ades an d a kin gof none,”said Belk, laughing.

At th e beginning of each day Belk is given the emergency calls thatcan include extreme leaks, brokendoor locks and electrical hazards.After she completes these tasks shemoves onto routine calls like ascreen th at is falling off of a windowor a dripping faucet.

“She cares … she wan ts t o leave agood mark on t he customers,” saidE d di e H u ds pe t h, m a in t en a n cedirector at Fort Belvoir. “It’s a greatexperience.”

Maintenance technicians leavecustomer satisfaction responsecards at every home they work on,and last quarter Belk received themost positive cards from the cus-tomers and was awarded the Main-tenance Technician of the QuarterAward.

“You try to make [the customers]

happy,” said Belk.

Every morning PrinceRobinson drives a grayFord pickup truck lookingfor trash and any othertypes of problems that hemay n otice.

Robinson is a mainte-nance manager at FortBelvoir and this is a partof his daily ritual to makesure his assigned neigh-borhoods are u p and run-ning in the proper condi-tion.

“It ’s a new cha llengeeveryday,” said Robinson.“I drive around t he housesand check for tra sh, treesor big objects an d I p ick itup.”

Robinson checks theproperties at Fairfax, Ger-b er , L ew is , B elvoi r a ndJa dwin Loop villages.

One time Robinson sawa snake and had to callKIRA to come and pick itup .

On a regular dayRobinson overseesapproximately sevenmaintenance techniciansand groundskeepers . He

schedules work to be doneand makes sure that work orders ar e taken care of ina timely manner; Robin-son even goes out on callswhen he is needed.

“When I walk away I

like to see people smile,”s aid Robin son , wh oattended Lincoln Techni-cal Institute and took classes in air conditioningand heating repair andplumbing.

Wo rkers he lp make ho use s hom e s

Ruth Belk,maintenance technician


Ruth Belk, maintenance technician, finishes up a repair to a house by writing up a report

to the residents on what was done and any instructions to the residents if necessary.

Rebecca Reiter,community manager

Rebecca Reiter oversees the homes inFairfax, Gerber, Lewis, Belvoir, andJadwin Loop villages.

Prince Robinson,maintenancesupervisor

Prince Robinson checks information for the electroniclock system as he inspects a house before turning itover to incoming tenants.

Stories by Melina Rodriguez




COLDWELL BANKER

RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGEContact our website at

www.ColdwellBankerMove.com

TONY

GIGLIOLake Ridge/Woodbridge

[email protected]

DIANNE

BARBREYManassas

[email protected]

TOM

MORCOMDale City/Montclair

[email protected]

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is America's Largest Real Estate Broker! With over 1000offices and 62,000 agents serving all 50 states and 81 countries aroundthe world we can assist you with any real estate need. We understand theunique needs of military personnel and are able to assist you locally,

nationally or internationally.We work with both military and federal agen-cies relocation groups in assisting them with their housing needs. Pleasecall one of our local offices to receive professional real estate services.

b MM A ANN A ASSSS A ASS 703-361-9161 703-361-9161 b

b DD A AL L EE CCIITT Y Y 703-670-6101 703-670-6101 b

b L L A AKKEE R R IIDDGGEE 703-490-1000 703-490-1000 b

MANASSAS $689,000JUST REDUCED!!!

Beautiful Home, 4BR, 3BTH, Liv Rm, DinRm, Gourmet Kit, Stainless Steel Appl, FamRm W/ Gas Frplc. Lg Mstr Bdrm W/ 3-Sided Frplc, Sitting Rm, Walk-In Closets &Jacuzzi. Patio, Landscaping, Front Porch.No HOA.

Please Call the Manassas Office 703-361-9161

FRONT ROYAL $349,000ONLY FIVE YRS OLD.

Like-New Condition. 3BR, 2.5BTH, NewlyPainted Interior, No Hoa. Fantastic Views OfThe Shenandoah Valley. Move-In Ready.Many Upgrades + Deck. Min From I-66, ButNo Noise. A Must See!


MANASSAS PARK $349,900VERY NICE 3-LVL TOWNHOUSE.

4BR, 2Full Bth, 2Half Bth.NewCarpeting,Freshly

Painted &New Appl.Mstr BdrmW/ FullBth, Eat-InKit, SepDin Rm,Fully Fin Bsmnt. Fenced Backyd. GreatLocation, Close To VRE.


MANASSAS CITY $199,000INVESTORS-THIS IS FOR YOU!

One Bdrm, OneBth Condo.Tenant Occupied,Leased ThruJune '07, Rent Is$900 Per Month.

Top Lvl Unit HasLiv Rm W/ Frplc,Vaulted Ceilings,Skylight &EnclosedBalcony.Spacious BdrmW/ Adjoining Bth. Well Designed Kit/Din RmCombo. Security Deposit To Be Assigned ToBuyer At Settlement.


MANASSAS $459,000COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG STYLE.

4BR, 2.5BTH, Quiet Cul-De-Sac SurroundedBy Mature Trees. Great For Commuters-Just 12 Min To Manassas Train. Three FinLvls, Walk-Out Bsmnt. CustomWoodworking Throughout, Hrdwds & More.This Is A Must See.


WOODBRIDGE $539,000

Beautiful, private wooded lot on cul-de-sac. 4BR/2.5BA with lovelyhardwood floors in foyer, kit, andFR. 16x12 screened porchw/beamed ceiling. Neutral décor.Great storage! Plenty of space toadd extra rooms!

Call Dale City Office 703-690-2240

WOODBRIDGE $338,950

Ready for new buyers! This 3 level,3BR/2FB/2HB home is located in aquiet cul-de-sac w/ a fenced in yard.New neutral carpet and fresh paintthroughout. Lower level den or 4thbedroom! Fireplace in huge recroom! Great buy in today's market!


WOODBRIDGE $374,997

Lovely, well kept, 3BR/2.5BA locat-ed on quiet street.Gleaming hard-wood floor. MBedroom remodeled.MBathroom w/garden tub. Drivewaybig enough for several cars!


WOODBRIDGE $529,900

A must see! 4BR/3.5BA beautifullylandscaped w/brick façade.Deck w/ walkway off kitchen morning rm. 4Ft.ext. opt.w/fireplace in family RM.Gourmet kit w/Jenair cooktop inisland and ceramic tile. Rec roomw/ full BA!


WOODBRIDGE $345,000

Charm and convenience in oneneat package! This 4BR/2.5BA islocated just minutes from I95 andDale blvd.Granite counters,upgraded baths, deck, fenced inbackyard, and new carpet in MasterBedroom! Lovely landscaped cor-ner!


LORTON $442,900Widelysoughtafter, fullservicecommuni-ty!Located 2miles fromFortBelvoirand walk-ing dis-tance fromLorton

train station. 4BR/3.5BA interiorboast! Newly painted and new car-pet throughout! Huge countrykitchen. Excellent buy!


WOODBRIDGE $399,900

4 BR, 2½ BA home.Cul-de-sac.Neutral carpet; lower level BR andbrick fireplace. Master BR w/fullbath.

Call Lake Ridge Office at 703-490-1000

WOODBRIDGE $410,000

Great home - Must see…2 level,3BR & extra room in walkout base-ment. New HVAC system.Hardwoodfloor on main level. Big level back-yard. Many upgrades.


WOODBRIDGE $445,999Like AModel…3 levelluxurytownhomewithhard-wood

floors.Almostas largeas a sin-gle family home.Upgrades thru out.Family room, sunroom, garage,deck, luxury kitchen and muchmore. Close to shopping.


LAKE RIDGE $499,900

PRICE REDUCED!!! You can't beatthis. Beautiful home located in theheart of Lake Ridge.Hardwoodfloors, 3 finished levels. Great land-scaping and much more.


CATLETT $715,000

Georgian Col. on 5 Acres + Pond-6BR, 3.5BA, 5000 sq ft- 3 finishedlevels- Formal LR, DR, Library, FR.Upgrade stainless steel appliance.Breakfast Room- English Garden-A 10++


RIVER OAKS $339,000The proudownershavespared noexpenseor effortto make itone of thenicest

homesavailable.Freshlypainted,new carpet has been installed. Imaginerelaxing in your brand new hot tubcomplete with neon lights, waterfalland 15 jets.


Documents

US Army: welcomehome