Construction of 214 homes will begin this spring in the former Black Hills Estates area of Ellsworth AFB, S.D., according to a base release. Balfour Beatty Community of Newtown Square, Pa., is leading this project, which the Air Force announced in August 2013 as part of the privatization of housing on multiple installations. “We are projecting that occupancy of the newly built homes will start April 2015,” said Jim English, housing program manager for Ellsworth’s 28th Civil Engineer Squadron. “Balfour Beatty Community quality compliance inspectors, the Ellsworth resident construction manager, and independent third-party inspectors will oversee the construction of the new homes,” he said. Base officials are working with BBC staff to schedule a townhall meeting in the next few months to address questions and concerns current and prospective tenants may have regarding the project, said English.
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…