Tuesday morning Corvias Military Housing began the first phase of demolition of the overstock of 588 homes on Fort Riley.

Mick McCallister, City Commissioner, said that a few years ago it was determined between the Department of the Army, Fort Riley and the community that there was an overstock of housing on the installation.

“So they decided they were going to bring those homes down to get back in to the Housing Market Analysis of 3827 which was agreed upon in 2012; that partnership has come to fruition and the promise was made to the community to keep the inventory at the 3827 level,” said McCallister.

Inventory reduction is beginning this week with the first 253 homes to be demolished in the Warner/Peterson Heights area of Fort Riley. The 1949 through 1951 Capehart homes are on the schedule to be removed after negotiations with the Army and Community over the course of the last two years has come to fruition.

“There is approximately 10 to 11 thousand soldiers that seek housing off the installation, and a third of that is on post and two-thirds of that is housed in the communities outside the gate,” said McCallister. “Those folks outside the gate, property owners and property managers have a certain amount of stock that they continue to build and continue to rent to soldiers off the installation; the number is important, economically, for both Junction City and Manhattan to house that other two-thirds outside the gate.”

Junction City Mayor Phyllis Fitzgerald was invited by Corvias Military Housing to join in on the demolition by operating the excavator to begin the demolition.

“A promise made is a promise kept,” said McCallister.