Public, Private Effort Could Ease Military Housing Crisis

A leading housing producer, testifying before an armed services committee in Monterey, called for the formation of a public/private partnership to ease the military housing crisis and bring affordable housing to the elderly.

“The military housing shortage has reached crisis proportions in communities surrounding Monterey, Long Beach and Oceanside in California and in other areas throughout the nation,” said Glenn W. Cardoso, president of the Western Region of Leisure Technology Inc., Los Angeles.

He proposed a partnership in which developers would build quality and cost-efficient housing for military families. In return, the military would deed surplus land near large population centers to be developed into housing for older Americans and others caught in the housing crisis.

Speaking before a session of the housing subcommittee chaired by Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), Cardoso pointed out that the military may be limited in funds but it has another resource--its abundant supply of surplus land that the government no longer uses.

“The national affordability crisis also has shut out the elderly and young families from the housing market,” Cardoso said. “With this partnership, we could bring housing to these groups. There is a serious shortfall of affordable and appropriate housing for aging Americans, one of the fastest growing population segments in the country. Those 65 and over now number 28.9 million; by 2025, that number will skyrocket to 45 million.”