Boston Globe -- NorthWest section

Hanscom bidder cries foul on deal
Developer says rules changed

By Eun Lee Koh, Globe Staff

A Braintree developer whose bid to manage housing for military families at
Hanscom Air Force Base was rejected by base officials has filed a federal
complaint in protest, placing privatization plans temporarily on hold.

The plans, which stem from a 1996 national initiative to save military bases
money, call for Hanscom to transfer the management of its family housing to
a private developer, who would then be expected to renovate existing units
and construct new ones by November 2007.

Hanscom officials have said the move will allow much-needed renovation work
to be done without going through the complicated federal bureaucracy.

Hanscom Air Force Base, which borders Lincoln, Bedford, and Concord,
announced in February that it would award the contract to American Eagle
Communities, a Dallas-based developer. But a complaint filed last month by
John M. Corcoran and Co. has now put the project in limbo.

In the complaint to the US Court of Federal Claims, Corcoran contends its
bid had met the requirements necessary for the government contract -- more
than any other competitor -- before the Air Force removed a requirement that
gave Corcoran an edge.

In the original request for proposals, the Air Force required bidders to own
or have control over land within a 60-minute or 20-mile commuting distance
that could be used to develop 97 new housing units for base personnel.

But according to the complaint, the Air Force deleted that requirement
shortly before proposals were due and after Corcoran had already entered
into an agreement to purchase Patriot Village, a nearby, privately run
housing development, to meet that condition.

The Air Force's decision to drop the requirement after the bidding process
had already started was ''arbitrary and capricious, and was an overt attempt
to find 'competition' at the expense of bidders who had played by the
rules," according to Corcoran's complaint.

''The government has the obligation to treat all the players fairly and act
acording to the rules," said Richard High, president of John M. Corcoran and
Co. ''We clearly met all the qualifications, but the government changed its
own rules after we had already followed it."

Rhonda Siciliano, a spokeswoman for the Air Force base, declined comment,
citing the pending litigation.

In its response to the complaint, the Air Force categorically denied the
allegations. Although the Air Force acknowledged that it had dropped the
requirement that bidders have developable property nearby, it denied that it
did so to give other bidders an unfair advantage.

The privatization plans call for a developer to lease 137 acres of land for
50 years. While the base is nestled on parts of Lincoln, Bedford, and
Concord, the 850 housing units used by military families are entirely in
Lincoln.

By November 2007, the developer is expected to demolish some of the older
housing units, expand and refurbish some of the smaller units, and build new
ones. The net result, under the plan, would be fewer overall housing units
but higher-quality ones. In turn, the Air Force's military families and
staff would provide the developer with a steady stream of paying tenants.

Part of the agreement is that the developer will accept the housing
allowance set by the base. The allowance, which rises with inflation, is
determined by rank, number of family members, and the cost of living in the
area.

Although Hanscom's housing plans do not directly affect Lincoln in the short
term, some Lincoln officials said they are worried about the long-term
effects should the developer be allowed in the future to open some of the
housing to private residents.

Even though Lincoln already runs the schools on the Air Force base, any
children not from military families would go to the Lincoln School campus.

''It's a strategic concern for the long range," said Ashton Peery, vice
chairman of the School Committee. ''Should the developer open the housing in
the future, then we would have to absorb additional children into our school
system."

As for the families themselves, Colonel Timothy C. Ceteras, commander of the
66th Mission Support Group, earlier this month told the Hansconian, the
base's weekly newspaper, that they would not be greatly affected by the
legal challenge.

''This is a common legal proceeding," the paper quoted Ceteras as saying.
''For residents the delay just means that everything stays the same for the
time being."

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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