Abilene growth brings housing challenges for Dyess
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)- The expected growth at Dyess Air Force Base is bringing new pressure to Abilene's already-tight housing market.
The issue was discussed Wednesday during Hardin-Simmons University's "The Future Is Now" Summit. Maj. Gen. John Nichols, vice president of the Military Affairs Council, says Dyess is entering a "generational growth period," over the next few years as more B-1 bombers arrive.
"The Air Force has decided to move the ones from South Dakota and put them all here now in Abilene, Texas at Dyess", Nichols said. "We're going to have 44 total aircraft inventory of B-1s in the next 3 years-ish. These are all rough estimates. And with that, we're going to get about 3,000 additional airmen and family members."
The B-21 Raider is also expected to bring additional military personnel over the next decade.
"The B-21 is an incredible machine. It is also coming to Dyess Air Force Base, and that is going to bring additional airmen and family members," said Nichols.
Nichols said he is concerned airmen could become rent burdened as they leave the dorms and compete for housing in the community.
"There's a housing challenge here," Nichols says. "It's very low housing inventory that is moving extremely fast at elevated prices."
Nichols saids there are about 1,100 dedicated military homes in the area, 710 on base and roughly 400 at Quail Hollow, which is a neighborhood that allows non-military residents to live there when there is capacity.
Now that Quail Hollow is near capacity, Nichols said they are looking at contactual agreements that could move some of those longtime, non-military residents out to make room for airmen and their families.
"It is traumatic. I'm be upset if I lived there for 10 years, was a faithful rent-payer and now I'm being pulled out," Nichols said. "But the flipside of that is we have airmen and their families that are being sent here on orders that cannot compete in this type of seller's market for a home."
Nichols said military housing only accepts the federal Basic Allowance for Housing, or BAH, which is often lower than current rental rates in Abilene. With more growth expected at Dyess in the years ahead, Nichols said finding additional housing will be critical to keeping up with the needs of military families.
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