Tired of same old, same old? You might try privatized military housing be-cause the Defense Department is throwing billions at it under the 1996 National Defense Authorization Act.

CEI Development and Shaw Infrastructure got a $150 million contract and 50-year maintenance agreement for Pelican Coast, the first master-planned community with deeded land for both military and private residents.

Located a mile from Patrick Air Force Base, the 300-acre community in Satellite Beach, Fla., will have 545 detached, Energy Star-rated homes, averaging 2,000 square feet, exclusively for Air Force families, and more than 400 detached and multifamily homes for sale and lease to private citizens. It also will have swimming pools, baseball fields and playgrounds.

The federal government will pay for 200,000 new homes for military families during the next four years. But Kathryn Thompson, CEI's development director and a former California builder, cautions against jumping into this unless you have multifamily leasing and managing experience.

"If you like to build and sell, it's not for you," she says. "The 50-year contract we have includes 46 years of property management and maintenance."

An interesting twist: "We really know our target market, even for the private sector," Thompson says. "We'll have an apartment building for seniors, renters by choice. I already have 50 names on a waiting list, all retired officers."