Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Fayetteville (NC) Observer
March 14, 2009
By John Ramsey, Staff writer
While other soldiers idle in the daily gridlock entering Fort Bragg, Staff Sgt. Charles Johnson can hit the snooze button.
His apartment on post — the one with the spacious bedrooms, the walk-in closet, the full set of appliances and that new-home smell — is probably nicer than anything he could have found outside the gates.
If that’s not enough, the $695 he pays for rent, utilities, cable and Internet access leaves him with $300 left over from his housing allowance. That’s right, he and his roommate are getting paid to stay here.
“You can’t ask for anything better,” said Johnson, part of the first batch of residents to move into the new complex near the Randolph Gate.
Called Randolph Pointe, it’s the first on-post luxury apartment complex for single soldiers. Anyone ranking staff sergeant and up is eligible to rent one of the one- or two-bedroom apartments, which are within walking distance of a food court and an on-post liquor store.
The two-bedroom units have personal temperature controls for each bedroom and private bathrooms.
The first of 13 planned buildings opened late last month, and the next one should be ready by the end of next week.
Also open is the swank clubhouse, decked out with flat-screen televisions and detailed with a paratrooper motif.
The lounge features six leather recliners facing a wall-mounted television. Above the TV is an electronic sports ticker.
Off to the side are a foosball table and video game stations for two-player matches on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.
Another room features a pool table and more video games. There are separate workout rooms for strength and cardio training. All of the treadmills have a television screen mounted to them. A swimming pool behind the clubhouse will open this summer.
The complex is operated by Picerne Military Housing, which manages on-post family housing at Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. Since 2003, the company has renovated 1,606 homes and built more than 1,000 more for military families at Fort Bragg.
The cost for one-bedroom apartments will be equal to the housing allowance for staff sergeants with no dependents, the lowest-ranking soldiers who can live there. This year that amount is $956.
Lower-ranking single soldiers, from sergeant down, will still live in barracks.
During an open house celebration Friday, Chief Executive Officer John Picerne said he hopes this marks a new trend in single-soldier housing.
“This really is the way people should live, and the way soldiers should be treated,” he said.
Last year, Army Secretary Pete Geren toured a model of the apartments and called them remarkable.
More than 125 soldiers already have signed up to live at the complex. Some of them are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and signed a lease after touring the Web site.
Lt. Randy Beck arrived at Fort Bragg late Monday from Fort Rucker, Ala.
The helicopter pilot moved into a two-bedroom apartment with 2nd Lt. Brandon Essiet on Tuesday. The two had never met.
The worst part of the complex, they say, is that not enough of their friends live there yet.
But that’s a minor complaint.
“This place is awesome,” Beck said. “Here, you get it all.”
The project is part of the Army’s Residential Communities Initiative. The $35 million initiative requires no government money to build and encompasses 29acres. If the first phase of 312 apartments is successful, there’s room to build another 216 apartments.
March 14, 2009
By John Ramsey, Staff writer
While other soldiers idle in the daily gridlock entering Fort Bragg, Staff Sgt. Charles Johnson can hit the snooze button.
His apartment on post — the one with the spacious bedrooms, the walk-in closet, the full set of appliances and that new-home smell — is probably nicer than anything he could have found outside the gates.
If that’s not enough, the $695 he pays for rent, utilities, cable and Internet access leaves him with $300 left over from his housing allowance. That’s right, he and his roommate are getting paid to stay here.
“You can’t ask for anything better,” said Johnson, part of the first batch of residents to move into the new complex near the Randolph Gate.
Called Randolph Pointe, it’s the first on-post luxury apartment complex for single soldiers. Anyone ranking staff sergeant and up is eligible to rent one of the one- or two-bedroom apartments, which are within walking distance of a food court and an on-post liquor store.
The two-bedroom units have personal temperature controls for each bedroom and private bathrooms.
The first of 13 planned buildings opened late last month, and the next one should be ready by the end of next week.
Also open is the swank clubhouse, decked out with flat-screen televisions and detailed with a paratrooper motif.
The lounge features six leather recliners facing a wall-mounted television. Above the TV is an electronic sports ticker.
Off to the side are a foosball table and video game stations for two-player matches on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.
Another room features a pool table and more video games. There are separate workout rooms for strength and cardio training. All of the treadmills have a television screen mounted to them. A swimming pool behind the clubhouse will open this summer.
The complex is operated by Picerne Military Housing, which manages on-post family housing at Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. Since 2003, the company has renovated 1,606 homes and built more than 1,000 more for military families at Fort Bragg.
The cost for one-bedroom apartments will be equal to the housing allowance for staff sergeants with no dependents, the lowest-ranking soldiers who can live there. This year that amount is $956.
Lower-ranking single soldiers, from sergeant down, will still live in barracks.
During an open house celebration Friday, Chief Executive Officer John Picerne said he hopes this marks a new trend in single-soldier housing.
“This really is the way people should live, and the way soldiers should be treated,” he said.
Last year, Army Secretary Pete Geren toured a model of the apartments and called them remarkable.
More than 125 soldiers already have signed up to live at the complex. Some of them are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and signed a lease after touring the Web site.
Lt. Randy Beck arrived at Fort Bragg late Monday from Fort Rucker, Ala.
The helicopter pilot moved into a two-bedroom apartment with 2nd Lt. Brandon Essiet on Tuesday. The two had never met.
The worst part of the complex, they say, is that not enough of their friends live there yet.
But that’s a minor complaint.
“This place is awesome,” Beck said. “Here, you get it all.”
The project is part of the Army’s Residential Communities Initiative. The $35 million initiative requires no government money to build and encompasses 29acres. If the first phase of 312 apartments is successful, there’s room to build another 216 apartments.