The Navy is expected to have the money to move ahead with a plan to privatize barracks housing for junior sailors across Hampton Roads.
The project has been in the works for several years. In September 2024, Navy Fleet and Family Readiness Director Leslie Gould told WHRO that this project was the “largest swing of any service” to privatize housing for junior sailors.
Language included in the Navy’s request to Congress in the annual defense bill states the Navy is short at least 3,000 beds for junior sailors in the region. The $380 million in federal funding would be seed money for a $1.3 billion project stretched across Navy’s major bases in the area.
Under the plan, 14 barracks would be turned over to a private contractor to renovate and run - 702-beds at Naval Air Station Oceana, 613-beds at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek and 1,293 beds at NS Norfolk.
A private contractor would build and operate a new 1,500-bed facility would be built at Newport News Shipyard and another nearly 4,000-bed facility would be built at NS Norfolk.
“The growing housing requirement caused by the staggering deficits within this Fleet Concentration area has resulted in a poor quality of life for Navy sailors,” the report states. “Should the Navy continue to fail to provide adequate, affordable, and decent housing, mission readiness and lethality will likely be negatively impacted.”
The project would also include demolishing six barracks complexes throughout Hampton Roads, which were deemed substandard. At Oceana, Little Creek and Norfolk, the Navy found barracks with collapsed roofs, malfunctioning air conditioning and “organic growth” on the inside and outside of the building, as well as inadequate force protection and facilities that are not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The new facility planned for Newport News Shipbuilding was one of the recommendations following a Navy investigation into the rash of suicides in 2023. Investigators found poor living conditions contributed to an overall negative environment for sailors stationed at the shipyard while their ships were in extended maintenance.
The military has had a checkered history with privatizing military housing. It often takes a decade to work through the appropriation process to replace aging facilities, creating an enormous backlog for each of the services. In the last ten years, the military suffered through years of negative headlines after it privatized most family housing, leading to a series of reforms. Tenants complained about substandard conditions and poor maintenance.
Privatizing barracks is particularly challenging, since junior sailors routely deploy for months at a time, leaving their beds open. The Navy has pilot programs for the privatization efforts in Norfolk and San Diego. Hunt Military Communities runs Homeport Hampton Roads at NS Norfolk. Hunt CEO Brian Stann told WHRO in January that they are negotiating with the Navy to expand.
According to a Navy spokesman, contract negotiations should be finalized in August.
The $380 million appropriation is included in the Senate and House versions of the annual defense budget. The House passed its version of the bill. Last week, the Senate version was approved in committee.
