Bragg officials defend housing contractor after critical report

In the wake of an investigative report criticizing the contractor that provides housing for soldiers and their families on a number of U.S. military installations, Fort Bragg officials on Wednesday defended the contractor and its operations.

Reuters last week reported on complaints from soldiers at Fort Bragg, Fort Polk in Louisiana and Fort Meade in Maryland, saying Corvias Military Living rents them poorly maintained homes riddled with health hazards that can trigger illnesses or childhood developmental delays.

Corvias is owned by John Picerne, a Rhode Island real estate developer who, since 2002, has acquired control of more than 26,000 houses and apartments across 13 military bases, according to Reuters.

At Fort Bragg, homes built in the 1950s have been razed in recent years to make way for new housing built by Corvias.

"This looks like any sort of housing that you would find in any major city," Fort Bragg spokesman Tom McCollum said. "We now have larger homes with larger bedrooms that can accommodate larger families."

Corvias will be building $51 million worth of new homes on Fort Bragg in the next two to three years, and the communities will be equipped with playgrounds, sidewalks and community centers, McCollum said.

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Jennifer Wade and her soldier husband live in a Corvias home on Fort Bragg that was featured in the Reuters story. She uses a wheelchair for long periods because of a genetic condition that has led to several major surgeries, and although the home on Victory Lane was certified to handle a person with a physical disability, she found problems with it when she moved in.

"Shortly after my surgery, my husband would have to drop me off this porch to get in and out of the house – repeatedly. It actually delayed my recovery for months," Wade said Wednesday.

There was also a problem in the bathroom, she said.

"The hand holds in the bathroom for support, they didn't exist, and so, we had to put in request after request to actually put them in," she said.

McCollum said the ramp was installed in a matter of weeks, not months. Also, the Wades were offered a different home that was compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, he said, but the family decided to stay in their home on Victory Lane.

Another Fort Bragg soldier whose husband's medical problems have been linked to mold in their home has gathered 2,000 signatures on a petition to make Corvias more responsive to tenant complaints, according to Reuters.

Corvias manages more than 6,500 homes and apartments at Fort Bragg, and the company works quickly to resolve any issues that come up, McCollum said. Residents have given Fort Bragg housing a 93 percent satisfaction rating over the past 11 years, he noted.

Overseeing such a large housing community is a daunting task, given the number of soldiers who move on and off post every year, McCollum said.

"When you change out about a third of it every year, the houses are going to get worn," he said.