EUL to provide relaxation for guests, funds to AF

  • Published
  • By Breanne Smith
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  A piece of Air Force land used to perform telemetry testing by the 96th Test Wing will soon be linked to vacation and relaxation.

Through an Enhanced Use Lease, an Air Force program administered through the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, 17 acres of land owned by Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., located on Santa Rosa Island is in the midst of being transformed into a prime vacation location.

Just more than six months since breaking ground, the Emerald Breeze Resort Group construction team is completing phase one of the three-phase project.

"Things are really moving," said Kathy Bustos, an EUL asset manager with AFCEC. "They are getting ready to pour the fifth floor sometime before August. After that, we start working on the roof including the necessary modifications to equip the roof with test monitoring equipment."

Last November, Emerald Breeze Resort Group entered into a 50-year lease agreement with the Air Force to lease the land. In return, the Air Force receives monthly lease payments based on hotel revenue. In addition to the lease payments, Eglin's 96th Test Wing will enhance its mission with the rooftop infrastructure the developer is providing as part of the lease consideration for the test monitoring equipment that previously sat at ground level.

The project is a "win-win-win" situation for everybody involved, said Glenn Wagner, Eglin EUL project manager.

"This is a beautiful development that will enhance the area," he said. "The lease payments all go back into Eglin and, when the doors open for business, active-duty and retired military members will receive discounted rooms."

Innovation and practicality will keep the U.S. Air Force ahead of the curve in today's economy, said Bustos.

"This is a smart business move for Eglin," she said. "It is a way for the base to help support and upgrade its own infrastructure and bring value back to the Air Force without the use of taxpayer dollars."

Since 2007, AFCEC's Strategic Asset Utilization division has worked with private industry, as well as local and state governments, to identify potential EUL opportunities at all Air Force installations nationwide, Bustos said. The branch assesses existing Air Force real property assets to develop market-worthy projects. The objective is to gain program investment by the private sector, in order to generate value for the Air Force.

Increasing self-sufficiency through innovative AFCEC programs is not unfamiliar to Eglin AFB. The installation is the site of a number of successful EUL's to include a water treatment facility as well as an airport and its supporting facilities.

Eglin was the ideal location for this latest project, Bustos said.

The base had a geographically separated unit, Santa Rosa Island, that was in a prime location for a private developer to operate a business, she said.

The Holiday Inn Resort on the island is scheduled to open in time for the spring 2014 vacation season.

For more information on the Air Force's Enhanced Use Lease program, go to the AFCEC website at www.afcec.af.mil/eul/.