Housing contract awarded, starting date to come Published Dec. 7, 2006 By 1st Lt Jason Bishop Public Affairs Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- Vance Air Force Base has moved one step closer to fulfilling its pledge for new family housing. The Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence awarded a task order to Hunt Building Company, Ltd, to complete the first of three phases of Vance's family housing project, said Lt Col Robert Mitchell, 71 Mission Support Group deputy commander. The order, awarded Dec 24, is for a $10.5 million project to tear down and rebuild 54 houses in military family housing. The original plan for the first phase called for 59 homes to be replaced. However, that number had to be reduced to get under construction costs, Colonel Mitchell said. The current size of the housing being replaced, located on the enlisted side and dating back to 1960, ranges from 1,142 square feet to 1,273 square feet. The new housing will be three- and four-bedroom, 100 percent brick, two-car garage and range between 1,760 to more than 2,200 square feet. The new homes will be larger and nicer than the homes Vance currently has, said Lew Hollis, a Vance civil engineer. "Everyone will be very pleased with them," Mr. Hollis said. "We will be treating the enlisted better than (we treat) the commanders. There will be some envy going on." Colonel Mitchell agrees. "We're all going to be real happy with the homes," Colonel Mitchell said. "I would like to live in them." The starting for phase one has yet to be determined, Colonel Mitchell said. That will be set during a pre-construction meeting Tuesday with the contractor, representatives from AFCEE, headquarters AETC and Vance. "At that point in time we will nail down a much more firm schedule," Colonel Mitchell said.