MARATHON, Fla. – The Coast Guard will host a grand opening ceremony to officially open nine new military family housing units in Grassy Key, Fla., Friday.
The single family housing units are the first of a multi-phase construction process and a product of a 17-year project that included extensive planning and construction.
The Coast Guard identified Marathon and Islamorada, Fla. as critical housing areas 17 years ago and set out to establish military housing to better support its active duty members and their families stationed in those areas. The entire plan included the selling of a military housing area in Miami, purchase of land on Grassy Key and demolition of existing structures, and then construction of the nine new units and one maintenance building with room and tentative plans for expansion.
The Coast Guard is pursuing $12 million in the 2011 fiscal year budget to possibly fund the expansion and construction of more housing in Grassy Key and in Islamorada, Fla.
The official party for the ceremony will include Capt. Scott Buschman, Seventh Coast Guard District chief of staff, Mr. Shyam Reddy, Regional Administrator Southeast Sunbelt Region, General Services Administration, Mr. Carlos Viteri, Viteri Construction Management Inc., president, and Cmdr. James Olive, deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector Key West.
The ceremony will take place at 9:30 a.m. at 57484 Gibson Street on Grassy Key. Media are asked to arrive no later than 9:15 a.m.
