COVER STORY, JUNE 2008

BRAC TO THE FUTURE
Base reuse plans invigorate impacted communities.
Jia Gayles

BRAC 2005 (The Base Realignment and Closure Act) cemented the fate of several major military installations in the Southeast whose doors will permanently close in 2011. Many of the affected communities in the 2005 round of closures, as well in the previous rounds of BRAC, have embraced the opportunity to create developments that will not only eclipse the economic impact of the abandoned bases, but also seamlessly meld with the established environment and preserve historic structures. “The communities determine their future,” says Bryant Monroe, a project manager at the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA). “We encourage organizing effectively by getting the right players to the table…and planning effectively by looking at the base and coming up with a good strategy.” The OEA assists communities via planning resources, technical and financial support during the base closure process.

The McPherson Planning LRA is spearheading the redevelopment of 488 acres at Fort McPherson in Southwest Atlanta.

In a 2005 study by OEA, it was determined that many BRAC-impacted communities had chosen to develop mixed-use projects on the sometimes hundreds, or thousands, of acres formerly occupied by the military. “Overall, mixed-use on the sites is pretty typical,” Monroe says, “but there are sites that lend themselves to education…airports, parks, or prisons. There are a lot of things communities can do.”

Of the 73 cities studied in 2005, public and private investment in base reuse led to the creation of 128,000 new jobs, which replaced a loss of more than 129,000 defense civilian jobs dating back to 1988. “The roadmap is static,” Monroe says, “but it gets you going. Modify [the plan] as the market [indicates] and opportunities come along. It is the way communities work the process that oftentimes predicts success.”

Fort Monroe
Hampton, Virginia

Fort Monroe

The Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority (FMFADA) is counting on a solid reuse plan to incorporate mixed-use elements and safeguard the base’s history. Serving as a temporary haven for Abraham Lincoln during the height of the Civil War and imprisoning Jefferson Davis for 2 years on charges of treason are just a few anecdotes from Fort Monroe’s colorful past. The base is located in Hampton, Virginia and was identified for closure in 2005. Chesapeake Bay encloses the fort to the east, Hampton Roads harbor to the south and Mill Creek to the west. FMFADA, in conjunction with local residents, has made preserving the base’s history the number one priority, as well as identifying how it can become more accessible to the general public. It is the largest stone fort and the only moated fort in the United States.

“Our first essential [goal] is the protection of historic places, but also to keep the [fort] vital,” says Bill Armbruster, executive director of FMFADA. “It will be an empathetic new development.” Armbruster was previously department assistant secretary of the Army and worked with the Fort Pickett, Virginia base closure from 1994 to 2001.

“The most significant change [in the BRAC process] is its close collaboration with the affected communities,” Armbruster says. “They have become much more integrated into the process, and the process is much friendlier to those impacted by the military environment.”

At Fort Monroe, the local community has been vocal about the redevelopment plan, evidenced by more than 600 residents attending a public planning charette in July 2006. The reuse plan calls for 2 million square feet of space divided into zones classified as: mixed-use/visitor & culture focused, which contains the inner fort; mixed-use/historic village, which will have select infill areas and contain workplaces, shops, single-family and multifamily residences, lodging, civic and institutional uses; mixed-use/workplace and residential focus, which will include office, commercial, civic, lodging and residential; and a large-scale open park and recreation area, which will encompass the entire northern peninsula. The project will focus on the reuse of existing structures, and limited new housing development will take place. Also, any new development will have to adhere to strict limitations on height, form and architectural style. A portion of the 570-acre fort, Wherry Quarter, is filled with non-historic military housing and future use has not yet been determined. More than 170 buildings will remain intact and be reused, and a proposed museum and continuing education element might also be incorporated.

“With 400 years of history here, there is a story to tell,” says Armbruster. “We want to maintain the character of Fort Monroe, and also open it up to tourists. It has the potential of becoming a major tourist destination.” The FMFADA is currently doing an economic analysis to determine what elements would fulfill its goals of self-sustainability.

Fort Monroe employs 4,051 military personnel, and FMFADA estimates filling at least half of the vacated office space after closure would more than replace lost jobs. The proposed residential mix at Fort Monroe is targeted toward a variety of new residents and will be comprised of multifamily for-rent lofts and apartments, condo/co-op options, single-family townhouses/duplexes and urban single-family detached houses. All properties will be leased, which is in accordance with the community’s commitment to maintain open access to the fort and the coveted 2.3 miles of waterfront property on its eastern shore.

“Our plan is to focus on long-term leasing, rather than any sale of the property on Fort Monroe,” Armbruster says. Following a waiting period for public comments and a review by the governor this summer, the final reuse plan will be sent to The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for approval.

Fort Gillem
Forest Park, Georgia

Another community that has clearly identified its life-after-BRAC strategy is the City of Forest Park, Georgia. The Forest Park/Fort Gillem Local Redevelopment Authority has chosen a master development team including Atlanta-based Cousins Properties, The Benham Cos. and Newport Beach, Calif.-based LNR Property Corporation’s Commercial Property Group for the $750 million redevelopment of Fort Gillem.

The base encompasses 1,427 acres, however; the Department of the Army will retain approximately 200 acres. The property is located in the South Atlanta Metro region, which affords it the added bonus of close proximity to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Master developers have outlined the following as a recipe for economic sustainability: 717 single-family and multifamily units; 435,000 square feet of retail space; more than 1 million square feet of office space; more than 8.2 million square feet of light manufacturing and warehouse distribution space; and more than 200 acres of green space. Other projects on the boards for the Clayton County area include Villages at Ellenwood, a 400 acre master-planned community; expansion of the State Farmer’s Market for a possible mixed-use development; and Gateway Village, a 165-acre mixed-use project.

“It’s going to be a sustainable environment,” says David Welch, president of the Mid-Atlantic region for LNR’s Commercial Property Group, which is currently redeveloping five former military bases around the country. “[It will incorporate] a mix of uses, a ‘live, work and play’ environment, that will be a huge benefit to the community.” The project’s design approach will be indicative of the surrounding area, especially respecting downtown Forest Park ’s “main street” feel. “There have been dozens of meetings with the community to understand what their needs and desires are,” Welch says. “We want to tie into the existing downtown area so that it all flows together as one cohesive development.” Also, Welch says the 1940s era historic buildings on the base will be restored.

The new development will add $243 million in new real property taxes to the area and generate 17,642 permanent jobs. According to the reuse plan, which was submitted to HUD last year, Fort Gillem is the largest employer in Forest Park and the second largest in Clayton County. Closure of the post will cause the loss of more than 1,000 jobs. The plan’s ultimate goal is to far surpass the economic impact of the base, which is located a city that is currently inhabited by the largest number of lowest income families compared to cities of its size nationwide.

Orlando Naval Training McCoy Annex Facility
Orlando, Florida

Orlando Naval Training McCoy Annex Facility

Ferreting out the myriad possibilities of how a military base can be transformed has the potential to empower a community, but the process is lengthy and detailed. The complete implementation of a reuse plan can take anywhere from 15 to 20 years. During the 1993 BRAC Commission, the 840-acre Orlando Naval Training McCoy Annex Facility was identified for closure, and a reuse plan was adopted for the site in December 1994. More than 14 years later, the final 226 acres will soon be shopped for a master developer. City officials believe the high-tech industry or town center development would fit well in the existing community.

“Our property is located due west of the Orlando International Airport, so there is a demand for this location,” says Laurie Botts-Wright, real estate manager for the City of Orlando. Redevelopment of the site’s adjacent parcels has yielded The Villages of Southport, a 200-acre military housing enclave converted into civilian housing, and the 52-acre Southport Community Park. “We interviewed the neighborhood associations...and tried to incorporate our design vision with a professional planning company,” Botts-Wright says. “We wanted to find the correct redevelopment opportunity that was both marketable and fit nicely into the transition from neighborhood to the west and into the industrial airport to the east.”

In the summer of 2006, a vision plan was approved that supports the development of a 39-acre business park with office, flex, hotel and neighborhood commercial and a neighborhood towncenter offering a mix of residential and limited retail. “[The city] had the RFP ready,” Botts-Wright says, “but we felt it wasn’t the right time. The market needed to stabilize.” Negotiations between the city and the Navy regarding environmental remediation of the site also drew out the timeline. Those issues have since been resolved.  Some areas of the property are restricted to commercial use due to prohibitions against using ground water for irrigation. “The Navy remains responsible for the remediation and monitoring of these sites,” Botts-Wright says. “The property has been studied for an environmental standpoint, and we are prepared and ready to go.”

Navy Master Jet Base/Cecil Commerce Center
Jacksonville, Florida

To determine future use of land conveyed to Jacksonville, Florida, as a result of the 1999 BRAC decision, the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC) incorporated the desires of the surrounding community, which resulted in the formation of the multi-modal Cecil Commerce Center.

In the conveyance, The JEDC received 8,300 acres of the 17,000-acre Navy Master Jet Base. The remaining acreage was conveyed to the City of Jacksonville Parks and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. The site hosts the third-longest runway in Florida. “Local residents really believed [the development] should be a job generator,” says Lindsey Ballas, business development chief of the JEDC. “The location was pretty rural, and the community saw an opportunity to have a job center so that they didn’t have to drive as far to get to work.” The industrial park’s south side is where most of the buildings and road infrastructure could be utilized from the former base and where Alenia North America, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems and L-3 Communications Integrated Systems and Global Military Aircraft Systems will start construction this year on a final assembly and delivery center for C-27J multi-mission cargo aircraft. On the less developed north side, which is adjacent to Interstate 10 in Duval County, a 63-acre, 1-million-square-foot Bridgestone Firestone plant is scheduled to complete this summer.

Currently, the JEDC is undergoing an extensive due diligence analysis to determine the market potential of the remaining 4200 developable acres. “We are looking to get [the park] into private sector hands,” Ballas says. “We want to form a partnership with a private developer who has a 20-year planning and return investment horizon…An entity that would be better equipped to deal with the long term challenges and opportunities that are associated with the site.”

The Department of the Navy’s ties to the former base have mostly been severed, except for the condition that if the industrial park turns a profit within 10 years of the land conveyance, the Navy will be reimbursed for monies it spent performing environmental remediation on the site. This type of agreement does not exist in the latest BRAC round.

“Overall, the [BRAC] process takes a number of years,” Monroe says. “Communities must deal with the [changing] marketplace, which is a challenging thing, but many have stepped up to the challenge and done a great job.” Redeveloping former military bases requires patience and fortitude, but with proper planning many cities are continuing to turn a closed door into a window of opportunity. Military bases can be reincarnated and have new life as an openly accessible, vital part of the community.

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