Convenience. Camaraderie. Close by. This is what single and unaccompanied soldiers of staff sergeant rank and above experience when they choose to live at The Timbers, Fort Drum’s newest community.
A partnership between the United States Army and Actus Lend Lease, The Timbers provides rental apartments for soldiers at Fort Drum, who are otherwise ineligible for barracks assignment. The Timbers is one of five pilot Army-wide developments created as an on-post housing option for single and unaccompanied soldiers.
Open floor plans are great for entertaining a roommate living at The Timbers.
Convenience
This new, modern community offers all appliances, and a variety of extras to ensure a comfortable living environment. Each apartment comes equipped with a full-sized washer and dryer, on-demand hot water, 24-hour emergency maintenance, landscaping and snow removal services. Private garages are also available for rent. Additionally, management has negotiated a 25 percent reduction for cable, phone and Internet services with a local provider, saving residents more than $300 a year.
LTC Rich Green, a Timbers resident, commented, “Simply put, The Timbers is ideal for me and other sodiers like me. When my wife received orders assigning her to the JAG Center and School in Virginia, we cringed at the thought of having to maintain two households for the third time in our marriage. With few affordable, high-quality, convenient, single-tenant rental properties in the Ft. Drum area, we thought I’d have to settle for something I didn’t want, at a price we didn’t want to pay. The opening of the Timbers changed all that. The Timbers offers a fair price, solid construction, great amenities, prime location and an efficient and dedicated management staff who care deeply about their tenants. I could not ask for more and I would encourage all installations to follow Fort Drum’s lead and offer superb quarters for all who serve our great Army.”
The Timbers offers suite-style one- and two-bedroom apartments with spacious, private bathrooms.
Camaraderie
As the exclusive on-post apartment community serving unaccompanied soldiers, The Timbers offers camaraderie. Whether a soldier lives with a roommate or rents solo, residents share a common bond. The common areas and the apartments themselves are gathering grounds where neighbors meet and socialize.
Organized events allow residents to get to know each other and enjoy the lifestyle this unique community offers. From pizza parties to comedy nights with professional entertainers, The Timbers provides a fresh and exciting experience for those who call it home.
Close by
The Timbers is close to work and play at Fort Drum. Offices, services and attractions such as an activity center, the library, the education center, the bowling center and several on-post restaurants are within walking distance.
“I am so excited to have the opportunity to live at The Timbers,” said Staff Sgt. Paul Brown, a current Timbers resident. “For years, single soldiers like me have been required to live off-post. Along with the time inconvenience of a longer commute, like not being able to run home after morning physical training or for lunch, we are typically burdened with extra out-of-pocket expenses living in substandard housing,” Brown said. “The Timbers is new, modern and close. I hope the Army continues offering single senior enlisted and officers housing options like this wherever I go.”
Why Fort Drum?
With the growth of the 10th Mountain Division (LI) over recent years, the need for soldier housing has become greater than ever before. Documented in the GAR Housing Market study in 2006, there are 17,532 soldiers stationed at Fort Drum, with roughly 1,622 of those soldiers eligible for Timbers accommodations.
At Fort Drum, unaccompanied soldiers ranking E6 or higher are granted a basic allowance for housing (BAH). They may not reside in the barracks and must pursue market options. Until now, those options were limited to off-post only.
A 2004 Housing Market Analysis initiated by the Army and validated through senior enlisted single-soldier focus groups determined that the Fort Drum market area has a severe shortfall in both the quantity and quality of housing available to soldiers. Current on-post family housing can accommodate roughly 35 percent of the need, so unaccompanied soldiers must compete with military families in finding somewhere to live in an already stressed local housing market. Many soldiers are forced to commute from areas outside the prescribed 20-mile commuting distance. This situation results in an increased demand for housing beyond the level depicted in the Housing Market Analysis.
Artist depiction of the Lodge under development for The Timbers. The clubhouse will serve as a leasing office and social center for Timbers residents.
Construction
Kideney Architects of Buffalo, N.Y., designed The Timbers. The 192-unit community consists of four, four-story, wood-framed buildings with 64 one-bedroom and 128 two-bedroom apartments. There are eight two-bedroom, handicap-accessible units with roll-in showers.
Enrolled in the multi-family Energy Star® program administered by the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, The Timbers is expected to receive Energy Star certification. Designed with two-by-six timber construction, R21- and R49-rated insulation, Energy Star rated appliances, envelope sealing, compact fluorescent lighting and tankless, on-demand hot water heaters, the apartments are estimated to be 20 percent more energy-efficient than traditionally built structures.
Total development costs for The Timbers are roughly $28 million. It is expected that The Timbers project will contribute more than $360 million to the local economy throughout its 50-year partnership. Additional amenities for Timbers residents are in development, including a clubhouse, storage facility, car wash station and trails.
The Timbers project is the first to financially close, with papers signed July 27, 2007. The first residents moved into The Timbers in March 2009. Other installations testing the privatization of unaccompanied housing and similar housing options include Fort Bliss, TX.; Fort Bragg, NC; Fort Irwin, CA; and Fort Stewart, GA. Any further expansion of the program will require Army approval after an assessment of the initial successes of these projects.
Article written by Megan Klosner. Megan is director of property management at Fort Drum Mountain Community Homes. All images courtesy The Timbers.
The future of the North Country is directly linked to the quality of its leadership. Dedicated, trained and inspired community leaders will shape and determine the future of our region for years to come. This belief was the motivation behind the creation of the Jefferson Leadership Institute (JLI), a program of the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce. Established in 1991, an average class size of 20 each year has led to over 330 graduates who are now part of the leadership core of Jefferson County. Read more
Mountain Community Homes is Family Partnership
An army survives on its stomach, as the adage goes, but an Army family requires a suitable home within which to support the needs of its soldiers. The on-going construction of homes within the Fort Drum Mountain Community Homes development is big business. During the initial project development period, Actus Lend Lease, LLC. (Actus), designer-builder for Mountain Community Homes, acquired 2,272 pre-existing residences, or legacy homes, and is constructing 845 new Energy Star residences in four distinct communities: Adirondack Creek, Crescent Woods, Monument Ridge and Rhicard Hills. Read more
Agency Addresses Area Healthcare Needs, Professional Placement, Training
Access to affordable healthcare continues to be a growing crisis in the North Country, for military and civilian families alike. There is also a critical healthcare priority issue with which too few are aware; healthcare professionals are leaving the area, and not enough are being educated to fill the shortfall. It’s a crisis affecting both civilian and military sectors. Now, there is a local solution to this local problem. Read more
In 1985, the North Country began an economic transformation with the activation of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum. Area business would never be the same. For more than 20 years, the school districts of the North Country have partnered with the soldiers and families of our storied division to provide a high quality educational experience for every student. The North Country has been greatly enriched by Fort Drum’s presence and impact, and the school districts recognize the continuing dynamic benefits derived from this on-going relationship. Read more
Branch Receives New Enhancements and Upgrades;
Klock Named Branch Manager
KeyBank has significantly enhanced and revitalized its Fort Drum branch at 10760 Memorial Drive, according to new Branch Manager Morris Klock. The improvements are part of a three-year, nationwide branch revitalization program now under way at Key. By the end of 2009, several hundred branches across Key’s markets will have received technology upgrades and other features designed to enhance the overall banking experience for clients. Read more
Pride in community service motivated numerous employees of Actus Lend Lease, LLC, (Actus), designer-builder for Ft. Drum Mountain Community Homes to assist Thousand Islands Area Habitat for Humanity in the construction of two homes built in the Watertown area. The homes, valued at more than $200,000 each, were designed by GYMO Architecture, Engineering and Land Surveying P.C., Watertown, and constructed solely by Actus employees involved in the massive residential communities currently being build on Ft. Drum. Read more
Many area small businesses have greatly enhanced their business practices by becoming part of the Fort Drum subcontracting community. Dust-Busterz Cleaning Service, a commercial and residential cleaning company in Watertown, has become one of those flourishing on-post subcontractors.
“We specialize in residential, commercial, military and now, post-construction cleaning services,” reported Beverly R. Welch, president of Dust-Busterz. “There is a lot of construction going on, and, upon completion of a given project, building contractors need someone to come in and clean before residents or businesses move in and take over.”
Welch became involved as an on-post subcontractor by using continued persistence. She explained, “At the same time I was starting my business, Actus Lend Lease was eginning work on Ft. Drum. They were conducting a number of different seminars and searching the local area for sub-contractors of all kinds. I attended several seminars and bid on this particular project. I got the bid after being in business for just one year.”
Her contract on post required a rapid expansion of both employees and hardware. “We make the military residences ready for families to move in, so I had to hire several people and learn all about the ways of working on Ft. Drum,” Welch said. “It was extremely challenging, but very rewarding at the same time.”
Welch is a Watertown native. Prior to starting her own business, she worked in banking and North Country broadcast media, including 790 AM WTNY and T-93 FM Radio, as well as Time Warner Cable in Watertown. “What really helped me get started in my own business was my 20 years in sales, marketing and advertising,” Welch said. “In that capacity, I was able to learn from a lot of different business people. When I started my own business, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But I was ready.”
When asked about advice for other entrepreneurs who might be interested in starting a new business, or becoming a subcontractor on Ft. Drum, Welch said, “Pay a visit to the Small Business Development Center at Jefferson Community College. It is truly the center for all information and provides valuable insight into getting a strong business off the ground. They’ll send you off in the right direction. Young entrepreneurs can even get internships with small businesses they are interested in through JCC. It’s a great way to get started.”
Welch identified one initial challenge as being an important one. “It was important for me to find good people for employees,” she said. “Hard working, dedicated, loyal and honest people are the backbone of any business.”
Welch continued, “Today’s economy is the biggest challenge for all businesses, but I think we’re very lucky to have Ft. Drum here in the North Country. I think the rest of the country is in a bad way, but northern New York is insulated against some of that. Ft. Drum is booming, and it’s keeping a lot of small businesses alive.”
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