Approvals for worker barracks bed space up to 1,144 in past 8 months

The number of new worker barracks bed spaces approved by the government is up to 1,144 in the past eight months, with the Guam Land Use Commission approving a permit for another 200-person barracks in Tamuning-Harmon last week.

GLUC commissioners approved a permit for the new temporary workforce housing facility, which V. G. Gozum Construction plans to build behind Wendy’s in Tamuning. The area is zoned M-1, for light industrial use.

Here are the other temporary worker barracks approved by the GLUC since August:

• A 600-person barracks in Dededo for Pacific Rim.
• Another 200-person barracks for V.G. Gozum Construction in Barrigada.
• A 144-person barracks for Rocky Mountain Precast in Dededo.

V.G. Gozum has about 250 to 300 employees with 200 more H-2B workers on the way, Dan Swavely, representative for the company, told the GLUC.

After the next 200 arrive, the company will petition for 200 more, Swavely told the commission.

Gozum specializes in interior and exterior paint and specialty coatings, and works on hangars at Andersen Air Force Base and other military and GovGuam projects.

Available workforce housing is a big concern for the island, the Pacific Daily News has reported. Laborers with H-2B visas are needed to complete work for the military buildup, but they need a place to stay.

Government officials have pointed to the increased population and local housing shortage as driving up costs for local renters and homebuyers, while slowing the flow of new workers to Guam.

The number of H-2B workers is still at a decades-long high, but the Guam Department of Labor reported the number of H-2B workers on island dipping to 5,119 in March, down from a peak of over 5,500 in 2024.

“We still have a big gap between the number of workforce housing beds, so to speak, and the number of … H-2 workers on Guam,” Swavely told the GLUC last week.

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He told commissioners that, by his analysis of local workforce housing data, there are still about 300 private housing units that are being used to house H-2B workers.

“So that’s a gap that we are working to fill,” he said.

V.G. Gozum plans to convert an old warehouse on Sgambelluri Lane in Harmon into the new barracks, and will retain use of about one-third of the property for housing, Swavely said.

The company has agreed to upgrade a 1.5-inch water line in the area to a 6-inch line, and install a fire hydrant, he said. They have also presented plans to the Department of Public Works to “flare out” the intersection with Route 1 and increase visibility in the area.

Barracks renewedGLUC commissioners also agreed to renew permits for two other worker barracks operated by Fargo Pacific Inc. and Reliable Builders Inc.

Fargo Pacific is permitted to build space in Tamuning for up to 648 workers, but has only built phase one of the project and is housing just 50, according to a report from the Department of Land Management.

The company maintains the extra space for flexibility, in light of uncertainty from U.S. immigration authorities, according to the report.

Fargo Pacific has operated the facility for eight years, according to project representative Kyle Borja.

At the Reliable Builders barracks in Tamuning, 125 H-2 workers are in the facility, which has space for 153.

There may be upwards of 10,000 permitted workforce housing facility slots, Greg Massey, the administrator of the Guam Department of Labor’s Alien Labor Processing and Certification Division, said in March.

But companies don’t always use the maximum capacity they are permitted for.