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Media coverage since December 2012 http://www.dailypress.com/news/hampton/dp-nws-fort-monroe-december-meeting- 20121214,0,843952.story Consultant: Sustainability decades away at Fort Monroe Conservation groups asking preservation not take a back seat to economics By Robert Brauchle, [email protected] | 757-247-2827 December 14, 2012 HAMPTON — The cost of operating Fort Monroe will continue to outpace revenue indefinitely unless the state agency overseeing the property finds creative ways to earn money, according to an accounting firm hired to plan the property's future. Just three options are being considered for Fort Monroe's master plan, all of which run an operating deficit exceeding $3 million annually, according to a presentation given Thursday by master planner Sasaki Associates. Those options include reusing the existing buildings for civilian uses, creating a Wherry Quarter park, and building homes in Wherry. Wherry Quarter — an area north and east of the stone fort that is not included in the National Park Service monument — has been a focus for Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, which has lobbied for that 72-acre area to remain park land. The area has been a wild card of sorts throughout the planning process. While public input has overwhelmingly supported green space in Wherry Quarter, state officials have said developing that property may be vital to making Fort Monroe economically sustainable. "We see it as an economic benefit to use that area as park space," said Scott Butler, of the Citizens group. "There are some tourism revenues that we feel haven't been considered." The Fort Monroe Authority has hired consultants to create a master plan to transition the property from military uses to civilian uses. Thursday was the public's first opportunity to see how reuse options may align with expenses related to keeping Fort Monroe open. "You need to bridge that revenue gap," said Fred Merrill, of Sasaki Associates. "You need to enhance your revenues by finding a lot of small funding sources and reworking your agreements with everyone, including the city." The Fort Monroe Authority expects to receive $13.2 million this year, with about $8.8 million of that coming from the state. Authority Executive Director Glenn Oder has said the General Assembly will likely wean Fort Monroe off of those state funds with the hopes the property can become self sustaining in a few years. The authority will need to decide how to generate revenue, but hasn't determined whether that means including new construction, charging to use certain amenities or increasing rents for tenants. Building a large number of homes on the property is not the immediate answer, said David Shiver, of BAE Urban Economics. In his presentation, Shiver said the three options Sasaki is considering show budget gaps of $3.3 million to $4.8 million annually once the fort loses its state funding. The largest difference between those plans is whether Wherry Quarter will be used for residential purposes. Shiver said the Fort Monroe Authority should push to attract large "anchor tenants," such as the Virginia STEAM Academy — a school focusing on science, technology, engineering and applied mathematics. "There are a number of different paths to close those economic deficits that you have to look at," he said. What's next This winter: Refine the property's economic model Spring 2013: Meet with the Fort Monroe groups to discuss the more complete plan Summer 2013: Submit the recommended master plan to the governor More online Sasaki's presentation: http://www.fmauthority.com/component/content/article/104-fma- board-of-trustees-meeting-december-12-2012 http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/0287dadf2a4741c49547fa4b2f87cbed/VA--Fort- Monroe Consultants conclude Fort Monroe future plans need more revenue HAMPTON, Virginia — The redevelopment of historic Fort Monroe needs new sources of revenue to make it financially self-sustainable. The Virginian-Pilot (http://bit.ly/Rs1P81) says consultants studying the Hampton fort's rebirth delivered that message Thursday to a meeting of the Fort Monroe Authority. The consultants sized up three redevelopment plans and concluded that none would generate enough revenue to offset expenses. The stone fortress on Chesapeake Bay was a military base until September 2011, when the Army moved out. A little over half of its 570 acres will be managed by the park service. The Fort Monroe Authority will oversee the reuse of the rest of the property. ___ Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-nws-edt-letsmon-1217- 20121216,0,3646895.story Dec. 17 Letters: Fort Monroe, welcome legal aid, Hampton, recycling cans Re: "Consultant: Sustainability decades away at Fort Monroe." According to the master-plan consultants at the last Fort Monroe Authority meeting, there is no magic revenue bullet for the historic site. None of the three options they presented, including those with aggressive residential or commercial development in Wherry, would make the FMA property self-sustaining. Each economic model requires additional sources of revenue. Also, the amount of shortfall between a developed Wherry and a green Wherry--characterized as an expense never covered, say, by the state parks or the NPS--is the relatively small amount of $.3- $1.5 million per year. What this means is that there is no compelling financial reason to develop Wherry and thereby diminish Fort Monroe. Instead, the FMA should focus its energies on creating the other sources of revenue it will need anyway. Moreover, a green Wherry could play a major role in this extra revenue generation. By enhancing Fort Monroe's beauty and historic ambience, it would help attract high-profile anchor tenants, who in turn would attract other tenants--to say nothing of increasing the whole region's appeal to knowledge-based and creative businesses that appreciate a high quality of life. It would also attract tourists and repeat local visitors, an income source the FMA must find ways to tap to achieve self-sustainability. And Wherry Park itself could figure directly in the latter enterprise as, for example, a venue for large-scale outdoor events like concerts. On the basis of the planners' recommendations, Wherry Park, not Wherry Office Park or Wherry Bayshore Village, is the best choice for Fort Monroe. Scott Butler Board member, Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park Newport News http://hamptonroads.com/2012/12/plans-fort-monroe-all-come-short-cash-0 Plans for Fort Monroe all come up short on cash By Sarah Kleiner Varble The Virginian-Pilot © December 14, 2012 HAMPTON Consultants studying the redevelopment of Fort Monroe said Thursday the historic site's governing board must find new streams of revenue to make it financially self-sustainable. A group of consultants presented financial analyses for redevelopment plans during a meeting of the Fort Monroe Authority board of trustees, but none of the plans would generate enough revenue to offset expenses of operating the site. David Shiver, Fred Merrill of Sasaki Associates and Eric Rothman, president of HR&A Advisors Inc., presented potential revenue generated by three separate redevelopment plans. One would focus on office or commercial development, another promotes residential development, and a third calls for leaving the Wherry Quarter district open and free from development. Without raising additional revenue, the deficits between revenue and expenses for each plan by 2027 would be, respectively, $4.5 million, $3.3 million and $4.8 million. Shiver suggested several ideas to generate revenue, including focusing on residential rather than office development, charging conservation fees and pursuing two major tenants that could be used as a marketing tool. One of those could be the Virginia Science Technology Engineering and Applied Mathematics Academy. The board approved a memorandum of understanding Thursday that allows the STEAM Academy to study the feasibility of using some of the fort's buildings. Construction of Fort Monroe began in 1819 to prevent an attack on Hampton Roads and to control access to Washington, Richmond and Norfolk. It is the largest stone fort ever built in the U.S. Fort Monroe remained a military base until September 2011, when the Army moved its personnel to comply with a 2005 base closure decision. A little more than half of its 570 acres will be managed by the park service. A state entity, the Fort Monroe Authority, will oversee reuse of the rest of the property, including limited development in certain sections, such as Wherry Quarter. The district is northeast of the fort and consists mostly of warehouses, utility buildings, parking, some open space and low-cost housing units built in the 1950s for military personnel. Sarah Kleiner Varble, 757-446-2318, [email protected] http://articles.dailypress.com/2012-12-24/news/dp-nws-fort-monroe-stanwix- 20121224_1_fort-monroe-national-monument-national-park-service Lessons for Fort Monroe at Fort Stanwix: An urban national monument Fortification has been on protected land since the 1970s A service ranger walks past Fort Stanwix in Rome, NY. Source: Robert Brauchle (Robert Brauchle, Daily…) December 24, 2012|By Robert Brauchle, [email protected] | 757-247-2827 ROME, N.Y. — Soldiers standing guard at the rural outpost of Fort Stanwix in the 1770s spent countless hours peering through the wood battlements at tall grass and shrubs, searching for signs of friend and foe. The fort in New York's Mohawk Valley kept hostile British troops and Native Americans away from the colony's towns and cities and allowed the government to monitor and tax trappers and travelers heading west. In 1777, troops here repelled a monthlong siege by British forces trying to advance toward the Hudson Valley. Three years later, troops abandoned the fort, leaving it in disrepair.