By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Hours after Broke Mill RV Park’s ownership was transferred to Team Housing Solutions Friday, The 830 Times sat down with the company’s owner.
According to the company’s website, they’ve been in more than 30 countries during the past 26 years and have booked 4 million nights for clients.
“The client here is going to be the Texas Army National Guard and we have been working with them since Rick Perry was governor,” said Mandy Cavanaugh, THS owner.
However, Broke Mill is going to be a different scenario for them. “We usually provide them (The Guard) with hotels, they take up a lot of hotels in South Texas and all over the state.”
“We’ve maxed out all the hotels, and so they decided they would like to build a base camp and we
partnered with a company that provides base camps on a short term rapid basis, whereas we provide more long term property management in the oilfield and around the world.”
She said it wasn’t unusual for her company to go into a town and rent an entire apartment complex for their clients.
However, that’s not the case here. Essentially, they are merging their skill sets. They provide a lot of rooms for oil field workers but now they are going to do that for the Army National Guard, with a slight twist. They aren’t using buildings but large recreational vehicles that will sleep 12 to 16 people.
“We are going to put 5th Wheels in the spaces and use that to meet the Guard’s needs,” she said.
Cavanaugh is quick to point out two things.
“I can’t say it enough, this is for the National Guard, not migrants,” she said.
Secondly, while many have theorized on social media that the bulldozers and rocks are prepping to build more room for the camp, that’s not the case, Cavanaugh said.
“Where you see heavy equipment operating, we are building a parking lot for the soldiers’ privately owned vehicles,” she said.
THS will provide meals on site as well.
Presently, Cavanaugh said they are targeting 1,000 people on site.
While Cavanaugh is extremely experienced in the corporate housing niche, she has a long track record of success.
She founded Team Housing Solutions in 1995 and slowly moved them around the globe. “On an average night, we are managing up to 10,000 beds,” she said.
In addition, she’s a published author and a member of the Forbes Business Council, who plans to spend a lot of time in Del Rio.
“I’m going to spend a lot of time here, this is a great community,” she said. “It’s a nice town, great restaurants, I really like it here and I know the Guard members are going to as well.
You can email the writer at joelalangton@gmail.com .
