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Given the concentration of Navy personnel in San Diego, it's fitting that the Navy's first-ever housing project dedicated to single sailors is under development here.
Pacific Beacon, located at Naval Base San Diego, formerly called the 32nd Street Naval Station, consists of three, 18story towers with 941 furnished apartments. It also encompasses the refurbishment of 258 apartments at nearby Palmer Halt, for a total of 1,199 units.
The new housing is expected to accommodate 2,000 sailors, many of whom are currently confined to living on board their ships.
The issue that the Navy is addressing is the Lack of housing allowance for new sailors, said Jerry Dunaway, the Navy's project Leader on Pacific Beacon.
"Until they get to midgrade level, which is E-4 or about four years, sailors do not have housing allowance(s)," Dunaway said.
Yet, even for junior- and middle-grade sailors, the allowance doesn't go very far in San Diego, one of the nation's most expensive housing markets.
One...