PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) February 1, 2020 — The Air Force Contracting Summit concluded on Friday in Miramar Beach; as we reported on Thursday, Tyndall Air Force Base was a big topic at this year’s summit.
There, base officials were able to network with specialized contractors and give a panel presentation about the base rebuild at the event.
As Tyndall Air Force Base leaders ready the plans for building the ‘base of the future,’ one thing remains a big piece of the puzzle; providing temporary housing solutions for the workers that will be rebuilding the base.
“We know there’s already a shortage of affordable housing,” said Bay County Commissioner Philip “Griff” Griffitts. “The base has informed us that over the course of the construction at any given time there could be 3,000 contractors working on any given day.”
Temporary housing for those workers is something Bay County and Tyndall leadership is working on.
“It will probably be a combination of quite a few things, with that many people needing housing” said Griffitts. “They want to keep it close to the base as well.”
One option on the table is utilizing county property as ‘work villages,’ for campers and trailers both on base and in surrounding communities.