Mountain Community Homes renovations raising the standard of housing for Fort Drum Soldiers, families

By Mike Strasser, Fort Drum Garrison Public AffairsMay 10, 2022

Mountain Community Homes renovations raising the standard of housing for Fort Drum Soldiers, families
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Renovations to hundreds of homes in the Adirondack Creek community are part of a $44 million community development program to improve housing for junior-enlisted Soldiers and family members at Fort Drum. (Fort Drum Mountain Community Homes photo) (Photo Credit: Michael Strasser) VIEW ORIGINAL
Mountain Community Homes renovations raising the standard of housing for Fort Drum Soldiers, families
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Renovations to hundreds of homes in the Adirondack Creek community are part of a $44 million community development program to improve housing for junior-enlisted Soldiers and family members at Fort Drum. (Fort Drum Mountain Community Homes photo) (Photo Credit: Michael Strasser) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (May 10, 2022) -- Sleek quartz countertops, new cabinets, and a stainless steel refrigerator and sink in the kitchen. New tub, shower and sink fixtures in the bathroom. These are just some of the renovations being made to hundreds of homes in the Adirondack Creek neighborhood for junior enlisted Soldiers and their families at Fort Drum.

“New kitchen and appliances, new bath, flooring, interior doors, light fixtures, trim and paint – it’s everything,” said Kris Carr, Fort Drum Mountain Community Homes development manager. “The level of these renovations is pretty high. This is basically establishing the standard, and we’re not going to move away from it.”

The improvements are part of a new capital commitment announced in 2021 to renovate and build homes across five Lendlease military housing communities over the span of five years, based on the needs of each installation.

At Fort Drum, the roughly $44 million community development program includes interior renovations to more than 730 homes and exterior renovations, such as new roofing, siding and garage doors, to more than 300 homes in the Adirondack Creek community. Additional work is slated for other neighborhoods, to include HVAC replacements, new fencing and pavement repairs.

Carr said that the majority of the work is slated for Adirondack Creek because the two-bedroom garden apartments are the oldest in their inventory – built in the late 1980s and last renovated about 15 years ago.

“Basically our oldest homes are ready for some upgrades, and we’re getting after it,” he said. “We are real fortunate here at Fort Drum because we have the youngest inventories of legacy units, allowing us to complete more renovations with the money we have.”

Carr said that after this project is completed, 70 percent of the legacy units – originally built by the Army but managed by Mountain Community Homes since 2005 – will have received some level of exterior or interior renovations.

The interior work began in March, and the goal is to complete 15 homes per month through 2026.

“It’s essentially operating like an assembly line,” Carr said. “Construction management organized the planned work and it’s proving successful so far. We have a great team and are ahead of schedule.”