Her husband, Sgt. Charles Pickwell, could hardly stop smiling. Their three children were upstairs claiming bedrooms.
They finally had a house big enough for everyone and could unpack boxes that had been sealed for nearly a year.
The Pickwell Family became the first to receive keys to a West Point house renovated by Balfour Beatty Communities under the Army's Residential Communities Initiative, which contracts with private companies to upgrade Family housing. A ribbon-cutting was held Tuesday to welcome the renovated house's first residents.
The Pickwells got to see their new house in the Old Brick neighborhood Tuesday while movers packed up their things in Stony Lonesome I. They had been living in a cramped house too small for a Family of five next to ongoing construction since arriving at West Point from Fort Stewart, Ga., nearly a year ago.
"This is really beautiful," Heather Pickwell said. "I didn't know what to expect because I hadn't been in here until today."
Two neighboring units built in 1949 were turned into a four-bedroom, two-story house that features hardwood floors and renovated bathrooms and kitchen. The house also features a living area and an extra upstairs room.
The house encompasses about 2,700 square feet, and the Pickwells are excited about having a house large enough for them.
"We knew when we got here (to West Point) we'd have to wait for a big enough house," Heather Pickwell said. "We just couldn't afford to live off base, and when you are in the military, you know you have to go with the flow. It has been hard to fit, but you endure."
Now the Family can unpack all of their boxes. They didn't have enough room in their Stony Lonesome house to unpack all of their things, Charles Pickwell, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the Keller Army Community Hospital internal medicine and dermatology clinic, said.
Having the first renovated house go to an NCO was fitting because it is the Army's Year of the NCO, Rich Wagner, West Point Family Housing LLC project director, said.
"This is a very deserving Family," he said. "They have been putting up with a lot of inconveniences and with construction in Stony I. I am very pleased we get to offer this house to this fine Soldier and his Family."
West Point Garrison Commander Col. Dan Bruno promised other Soldiers and their Families can expect to see a similar house in the coming years when they live on post after renovations turn 961 on-post homes into 824 new or refurbished houses.
Command Sgt. Maj. Martin Wells, the post's senior noncommissioned officer, said he was thrilled a Soldier and his Family get to benefit from a program designed to improve the Army's quality of life.
"It is a nice thing to know this renovated house now becomes a home," he said.
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