Air Force breaks ground on new Charleston housing

JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A groundbreaking is scheduled for the joint Navy and Air Force Base in Charleston to mark the beginning of a family housing project to build 335 new homes.

Air Force spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Susan Carlson says Thursday’s event kicks off the demolition of 468 existing housing units leading to construction of the new housing.

The project includes a community center and a network of walking trails.

Carlson says the construction is the result of an agreement to shift the military housing to the private sector with the firm Forest City Military Communities and the Air Force. The agreement oversees a venture to develop and manage Air Force housing at South Carolina bases in Charleston and Sumter, as well as Mississippi and Tennessee.