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More Troops for Ft. Lewis

By Sandy Nelson

Managing Real Estate Broker with Riley Jackson Real Estate Inc.

January 04, 2008 11:40 AM

By 2013 Ft. Lewis will see an increase of about 2000 additional military service members and about 5000 additional civilian personnel. With accompanying family members, those numbers could mean an influx of 15,000-20,000 people moving into the South Sound area. In terms of impact, it's the population of a small town. A growth of this magnitude will affect the nearby communities in regards to housing, jobs and schools. Washington Senator Patty Muray promised to work on helping the surrounding communities to handle the growth. Although the Army plans to take over 500 housing units from adjacent McChord Air Force Base, the influx of personnel means good news for the South Sound housing market and local landlords.

Ft. Lewis is a popular choice for military assignment. The are offers a high quality of life, due to the natural beauty of the area and the many cultural, recreational and shopping amenities the area has to offer.

Sandy Nelson
Realtor for Olympia area real estate
www.sandynelsonrealestate.com

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Matt Ratcliffe, REALTOR

Keller Williams Realty Brazos Valley - College Station, TX

That is a lot of people, does the market handle all of the housing needs? what a great problem to have,

Jan 04, 2008 11:50 AM

Gary Bolen

McCall Realty - South Lake Tahoe, CA

CRS - Lake Tahoe Real Estate Information

Wish we had a military presence up here to serve. that's our background as army brats. we also like your area a lot too. new year's best wishes...

Jan 04, 2008 11:57 AM

Adam Brett

The Adam and Eric Group - Fullerton, CA

The Adam and Eric Group, Fullerton's Finest

Looks like you can position yourself as the RELO specialist.

Jan 04, 2008 12:08 PM

Sandy Nelson

Riley Jackson Real Estate Inc. - Olympia, WA

your Olympia area Realtor

Matt,

We have a lot of inventory in new construction homes and the BAH rates for Ft. Lewis just went up. I think we can handle the housing need.

Gary & Richard,

I'm sure there are lots of soldiers who wish there was an installation at Lake Tahoe.

Adam,

I am the RELO specialist for the Fort Lewis and McChord AFB area.

Thanks for stopping by my post and have a great new year.

Sandy

Jan 04, 2008 12:56 PM

Anonymous

Hi Sandy,

Thanks for the information. I hope you are havng a happy new year!

Alex

Jan 07, 2008 05:38 AM

Shirley Parks

Sands Realty 210-414-0966 - San Antonio, TX

Broker, 210-414-0966, San Antonio TX Real Estate

Sandy, My husband was stationed at Madigan Army Medical Center on Ft. Lewis and from 1978 - 1980 our family lived in one of those old homes in the officer housing area that lined the parade field. I loved that old 2 story home with it's sunrooms, wooden floors, and a maid's room.. it was from a different era. In the late 90's when I lived in Oregon for a couple of years, I made a trip up I-5 just to drive by the place where I had so many memories. But then a couple of years ago after Google Earth came along, I got on the internet to look at Ft. Lewis. I was shocked to see that all the old homes had been torn down and in their place were new airstrips! Wah! You could still see some streets with driveways and shrubbery still standing, but the houses were gone. How sad.

Feb 20, 2008 01:16 PM

Margaret Woda

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD

Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

We have about 22,000-28,000 headed to the Ft. Meade area in Maryland, as well. Lots of work needed on the part of local governments to prepare, and lots of potential business for real estate agents if we prepare, too.

Feb 20, 2008 02:55 PM

Margaret,

I'm glad to see that the military is expanding installations in communities with high quality of life amenities. We and many of our military friends had lists of installations that we hoped we'd never be stationed at.

Feb 21, 2008 03:04 AM

Shirley,

Did there used to be two parade fields? There is still a parade field with old officers' quarters around it. The Grey Army Airfield is a ways down the road from there. I, too, love the old red brick homes with the pillars out front and the attached sun rooms. The new housing units that have been built at Fort Lewis are very nice, too.

Feb 21, 2008 03:20 AM

Sandy, This is bizarre. I swear that my husband and I looked at Ft. Lewis a few years ago and that is what I saw (maybe after 911 they disguised the military bases on Google or something????) After reading your comment, I went back and looked and there is my old home, safe and sound. It is the parade field facing Bitar. ...all's well that ends well... :-)

Feb 21, 2008 12:12 PM

I'm glad you found your old quarters still standing. It would have been a shame to demolish these beautiful old homes.

Feb 21, 2008 02:14 PM

Terry Kuehn

Family Real Estate Services, Inc. - Tacoma, WA

Self-Directed Roth IRA Associate

The Pacific Northwest is truly blessed what with all the branches of the armed services being present in and around Bremerton, Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle and Everett. I wasn't born here, but I used to sell newspapers at Ft. Lewis and McChord Air Force Base in the early '50s. I can still remember going in and out of the various mess halls, day rooms, canteens and clubs peddling the Seattle PI. What a time that was......

Feb 25, 2008 06:02 PM

Terry, I also believe the Pacific Northwest is blessed. It's just a beautiful place, and the soldiers, airmen and sailors stationed here are lucky.

Feb 26, 2008 01:33 AM

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