RF Summer 2005 FINAL.ps - 7/12/2005 13:52 PM REDEVELOPMENT BOOT CAMP

To survive the latest round of base realignments and closures, military-centric communities will have to find ways to turn and bombing ranges into

something marketable BY CHARLES GERENA

talkative group fills the restau- uniform. Actually, there is something by the Army National Guard, rant booth near the front door else different. The long, flat building which manages it pretty much as the Aof Ida’s Kitchen. They chew looks like it belongs on an Army base. U.S. Army did for more than 50 years. the fat about the latest movies and In fact, Ida’s operates in what used to “The military presence continues, exchange neighborhood gossip while a be a mess hall that fed soldiers stationed and thank goodness for that,” says Joe gray-haired lady listens quietly from a at Fort Pickett. Outside, C-17s prac- Borgerding, a bank manager in Black- chair pulled up beside the booth. She tice sorties at a nearby airfield four stone who recently served on the board is the owner of the establishment, times a week. Sometimes, they fly so of the local chamber of commerce. And which provides catering services low that a passing motorist can almost a small section of Fort Pickett made throughout rural Virginia as make out the pilot’s face. available for private development has well as a hot platter of Southern cook- Fort Pickett covers 42,000 acres, supported some economic activity, ing for walk-ins. making it larger than Washington, D.C. mostly small businesses like Ida’s Right away, two things stand out. The vast facility’s economic influence Kitchen. Only one man is seated at the booth, spreads even farther, encompassing the Other localities in the Fifth District and he is dressed in the camouflage small town of Blackstone and sur- lost military installations during the four colors of an Army National Guard rounding Nottoway County. Both fared previous BRAC rounds between 1988 OK after Fort Pickett landed on the and 1995, but they were spared the Most of Fort Pickett, which covers more ground than Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) major closures that shook up commu- the nation’s capital, was retained by the military list in 1995. The facility was taken over nities in states like California. (The big rather than redeveloped. exception was the shutdown of the Charleston Naval Complex, which cost the South Carolina city thousands of jobs.) In fact, a few places like Patuxent River in southern Maryland and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in eastern North Carolina enlarged when they received personnel from closed facilities. The Fifth District may dodge the bullet again. in Hampton, Va., was the only major installation tar- geted for closure when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced the preliminary 2005 BRAC list in May. And in Virginia, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and other PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESYPHOTOGRAPHY: OF FORT PICKETT

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Long Recovery Only two of the five major base redevelopments in facilities could end up with a net gain One of the researchers who reached the Fifth District have managed to produce enough in employment once the dust settles. this conclusion is Ted Bradshaw, a com- jobs from private-sector investment to replace the But a nine-member commission can munity development expert at the civilian jobs lost post-BRAC. modify Rumsfeld’s list before they University of California-Davis. “If you Loss Gain present it to President Bush for his con- are losing a base [that] has thousands of Charleston Naval Complex, SC 6,272 2,797 sideration in September. Until then, people, you cannot assume that your (BRAC 1993) every community with a major military economy is going to go down the Fort Pickett, VA 245 272 presence faces an uncertain future. tubes,” he says. “You don’t have that (BRAC 1995) It’s hard to generalize about how well local customer base [anymore], but the Fort Ritchie, MD 1,373 42 they will fare judging from Fort Pickett’s net effect over a number of years is (BRAC 1995) experience alone, especially since the going to be possibly neutral or positive.” Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, SC 784 1,571 installation was “realigned” instead of For individual communities recover- (BRAC 1991) closed. But the effects of previous ing from a closure, though, the short run Vint Hill Farms Station, VA 1,472 901 BRAC rounds on communities like can be painful. “The recovery process (BRAC 1993) Blackstone and efforts to mine the eco- has not necessarily been easy, with the nomic potential of military installations strength of the national, regional, and SOURCE: Office of Economic Adjustment, like Pickett offer some important local economies having a significant U.S. Department of Defense lessons. Most importantly, the odds of bearing on the recovery of any particu- success increase when redevelopment lar community facing a BRAC closure,” city of Concord, Calif., lobbied for the complements what the local community noted the 2005 GAO report. closure of a naval weapons station in the already does well. The shutdown of a military installa- next BRAC round so that land would “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you tion tends to hurt rural communities be available to meet the soaring demand aren’t going to redevelop bases in a day more than urban locales. Bradshaw and for residential development in the hot either,” advises William Harvey, former others say that’s because such facilities Bay Area housing market. (They got chief of the Army’s BRAC office and account for a relatively large share of their wish.) president of an Alexandria, Va., con- employment and spending in an In some cases, the traits that made sulting firm that helps redevelop economy with a relative lack of business former bases attractive to the military federal property. “The time [required] diversity. The impact of a closure also are also conducive for civilian applica- is based on the area’s absorption capa- depends on the type of installation, tions. For instance, naval facilities could bility and the demand for that type which determines how much of its be well suited for port operations, while of property.” payroll and procurement dollars are other installations with aviation infra- spent locally. (See the cover story, structure could support commercial Being “Brac”-ed “Dollars and Defense,” in the Summer air traffic or house a plane maintenance Before the release of the initial 2005 2003 issue of Region Focus.) facility. BRAC list, news stories appeared with The Army built Fort Pickett during However, there are costs involved in ominous headlines like “Base Closings World War II to prepare Army soldiers realizing the potential value of a mili- Will Hit Like Tsunamis.” Past experience and reservists for battle. Tens of thou- tary installation, some of which are doesn’t justify this level of pessimism. sands of these warriors spent money borne by the Defense Department and A recent analysis by the U.S. Gov- locally during their stay, while the facil- some of which fall on other people’s ernment Accountability Office found ity employed hundreds of civilians to shoulders. Depending on the desirabil- that about 85 percent of local civilian maintain the grounds and purchased ity of the site, these expenses may make jobs lost during previous base closures some supplies locally. Fort Pickett it difficult for developers to get a good have been replaced through the devel- revved up again during the early 1950s return on investment. “Where there is opment of the properties. “Two key to prepare soldiers for combat in North the will, there is a way … and where the economic indicators — the unemploy- Korea, then evolved into a transient economics support it,” notes consult- ment rate and the average annual real facility for training armed forces. ant Bill Harvey. per-capita income growth rate — show President Bush recently proposed that BRAC communities are generally Fire Sale converting bases into oil refineries. The doing well when compared with With the potential negative effects of permitting process for such conversions average U.S. rates,” the report states. a base closure on a local community might be easier compared to building a Other research has found that, in the come the potential benefits of freeing refinery on a virgin site. But energy ana- aggregate, the economic effects of a up military real estate for civilian use. lysts note that many bases aren’t near base closure don’t spread far beyond the For installations where urban develop- existing pipelines or large bodies of immediate vicinity over the long run. ment encroaches upon its borders and water that are accessible to oil tankers, Even then, the ripples rarely become land is at a premium, their property plus they may be too contaminated for the tsunamis that people predicted. could prove very valuable. In fact, the refiners to deal with cost effectively.

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Indeed, many military installations some repair work on water and sewer Although the 1995 BRAC report have problems similar to brownfields. lines before the land transfer. Three noted that Fort Pickett was “low in mil- “They have major toxic conditions buildings transferred for redevelopment itary value compared to other major [in soil and groundwater] that have were demolished, but others were in training area installations,” to be remediated,” notes Debbie Kern, good shape and the Army repaired reportedly decided that the Virginia a San Francisco-based real estate a few beforehand. Consequently, many Army National Guard could run it at a consultant who specializes in base structures are being reused as is, from a lower cost than the regular Army could conversions. Additionally, installations bowling alley to a chapel run by a former and still train troops throughout the usually have at least some buildings Pickett commander. Mid-Atlantic. and infrastructure in need of upgrading In addition to the remediation and Today, about 900 military personnel, or replacement. On top of these brown- infrastructure work that may be civilians, and contract employees work field issues, installations may have required before a military installation in the 42,000 acres that the Guard unexploded bombs and other munitions is ready for transfer, there is the trans- manages as a Maneuver Training Center. that defunct industrial sites don’t have. fer process itself. First, the Pentagon It includes several specialized firing All told, dealing with these issues sees if it can use any of the property. ranges and a 16-building mock city used takes a lot of time and resources. Unless Whatever it considers to be excess is to practice urban warfare. The Defense it does an early transfer, the Pentagon then up for grabs by other federal agen- Department retains ownership of the usually doesn’t turn over an installation cies. Any land remaining is declared center, as well as 90 acres used by the until it is suitable for civilian use. That surplus and signed over to new owners, U.S. Army Reserve. can take decades, according to Kern, either through a direct sale or a variety Whether a facility’s economic depending on the amount of remedia- of conveyance mechanisms. impact changes after realignment tion and infrastructure work required. In Fort Pickett’s case, Nottoway depends on the facility. Soldiers from Nottoway County was fortunate County received its chunk of the various branches of the armed forces, because much of the infrastructure in the facility for free under an economic along with law-enforcement profes- 1,654 acres of Fort Pickett transferred development conveyance, which Kern sionals and foreign troops, still come to its Local Redevelopment Authority says is a somewhat expedited process. to Fort Pickett to sharpen their skills. was in good shape. The utilities had been Still, it took five years for the transfer But while more people cycle in and out operated by outside entities before to be completed. of Pickett, they stay for shorter train- Pickett’s realignment, and the Army did ing periods due to long-term changes Private vs. Public in how the military operates and short- Land Grab Given the pecking order of base reuse, term adjustments in response to the war Uncle Sam has snatched up more than half of the how much land ends up in private on terrorism. This translates into less 854,000 acres of military installations declared hands and how much of it gets gobbled spending off base. unneeded after four rounds of base closures and up by Uncle Sam first? More than half Fort Pickett itself still spends money realignments. The Department of Defense expects of the property declared unneeded in locally, from rock used to cover 210 miles the untransferred property will eventually go to four previous BRAC rounds — of trails to contractors who maintain nonfederal users, including local redevelopment 450,000 acres, to be exact — has been and build new training areas. Officials authorities and private developers. retained by the Defense Department estimate that the base spent between for reserve and National Guard units, $1.5 million and $2.5 million in 2004. Untransferred or transferred to another federal agency In the Fifth District, there are other Retained by DOD for 49,000 thus far. Only 31 percent, or 264,000 examples of base realignments. A naval Untransferred, reserve component use but leased 350,000 acres, has gone to new owners outside technical center in St. Inigoes, Md., now of the U.S. government, including local operates as an annex to NAS Patuxent 91,000 6% redevelopment authorities and private River located 13 miles away. There also 10% developers. (See chart.) are examples of federal reuse of military 41% Fort Pickett was supposed to be installations. A massive campus for the mothballed. That didn’t happen due Food and Drug Administration is being 31% to lobbying by officials like the late developed in Silver Spring, Md., at a U.S. Rep. Norman Sisisky to have the former naval warfare center. The Federal 12% Virginia Army National Guard take Aviation Administration operates a over management of most of the facil- regional air traffic control center in part Transferred to ity. Also, then-Gov. George Allen of Vint Hill Farms, a former communi- nonfederal entities Transferred to lobbied for state officials to move the cation station in Fauquier County, Va. 264,000 federal entities 100,000 Department of Military Affairs, which At Fort Pickett, Virginia Tech received oversees the state’s National Guard 1,184 acres that had been transferred SOURCE: U.S. Government Accountability Office operations, to Pickett. from the military to the U.S. Department

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of Education. The university used the firms in the county-controlled industrial property to create a centralized campus park. If the Virginia Army National for its Southern Piedmont Agricultural Guard didn’t take over most of Pickett, Research and Extension Center. Other a move that boosted the facility’s public facilities at Pickett include a satel- military and civilian employment from lite campus for Southside Virginia around 750 in August 1995 to well over Community College and a driver train- 900 today, there likely would have been ing facility for state police. a net employment loss after BRAC. While there has been extensive public Given the availability of industrial space reuse of bases, private uses are equally in Southside Virginia, including a site As many as 88,000 troops train at Fort Pickett important. “It is with the value created in Nottoway County just a few miles annually, though they stay for shorter periods by private development, along with from Fort Pickett, it probably wouldn’t than before the 1995 BRAC changes. subsidy sources, that you are able to add have been worthwhile for a developer to the public benefits,” says consultant to clean up the active part of the instal- One unique asset Pickett Park has Debbie Kern. “You have a new tax base.” lation. About 15,000 acres is an impact is trees — average annual sales of timber zone heavily contaminated with shells in Nottoway County were $7.2 million When Uncle Sam and other debris from weapons fire. from 1986 to 2001, ranking the county Doesn’t Want You “Why would a developer want to pay fourth in the state. It is this ample Yet the hardest part of the redevelop- for a military base that comes encum- supply of timber that probably attracted ment process can be attracting private bered with ancient utilities and facilities ArborTech and Trout River Lumber, investment in a former military instal- and its own environmental problems which occupied a hangar at Pickett Park lation. Depending on whether the such as lead-based paint and asbestos until it built a new facility in Crewe. facility has something that the market … when right next door might be a clean Also, a World War II-era officers club wants, it can take awhile to replace lost piece of property … that they can get has been beautifully restored into an military and civilian jobs. at the same price, or maybe cheaper?” event and meeting space. The club has Since 2000, Nottoway County has asks Ken Matwiczak, a public affairs pro- attracted a lot of business because it is been turning its acreage at Pickett into fessor at the University of Texas at one of the few facilities of its kind avail- an industrial complex called Pickett Park, Austin. He is currently working on a able in Nottoway. but progress has been slow. Currently, report for the Congressional Research It is much harder for a redeveloped the park’s largest tenant is a lumber pro- Service on the economic aftermath of military installation to support new ducer named ArborTech Forest Products. BRAC rounds in rural communities. industry, especially in remote rural areas The company’s $26 million, high-tech saw Fort Pickett is one of 16 installations with limited economic activity to lever- mill employs 65 people, 15 more than orig- his graduate students visited. age. “[Large corporations] don’t have a inally projected in 2000. Another The key to a successful redevelop- reason to come to rural areas,” says company was supposed to invest $13 ment is finding something about a base Matwiczak. “… There isn’t transport- million and hire 100 people, but its prin- that uniquely addresses an existing need ation infrastructure [or] opportunities cipals couldn’t obtain the financing they in the marketplace. Vint Hill Farms and to interact with other industries.” needed to get rolling. Several smaller firms Cameron Station were turned into Military base closures hurt. Whether have moved into buildings that the mil- mixed-use developments to take advan- communities can recover from the loss itary had used, while the county operates tage of the demand for housing in ultimately depends on how they utilize a business incubator and rents out former Northern Virginia, while part of Myrtle market forces. “You have some tools barracks as single-occupancy housing. Beach Air Force Base became an airport that can somewhat offset it,” notes Overall, only 155 of the 1,131 people that supports coastal South Carolina’s Kern, “but base development has to be working at Fort Pickett are at private burgeoning tourism trade. primarily market-driven.” RF

R EADINGS Bradshaw, Ted K. “Communities Not Fazed: Why Military Base “Military Base Closures: Observations on Prior and Current Closures May Not Be Catastrophic.” Journal of the American BRAC Rounds.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Planning Association, Spring 1999, vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 193-206. Accountability Office, May 2005. Frieden, Bernard J., and Christie I. Baxter. “From Barracks Warf, Barney. “The Geopolitics/Geoeconomics of Military Base to Business: The M.I.T. Report on Base Redevelopment.” Closures in the USA.” Political Geography, September 1997, Washington, D.C.: Economic Development Administration, vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 541-563. U.S. Department of Commerce, March 2000. Visit www.richmondfed.org for links to relevant sites and supplemental information.

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