Fort Monroe authority backs reuse plan

ERICK SORICELLI

The Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority unanimously approved a reuse plan for the Hampton fort once the U.S. Army hands it over to state and federal ownership in 2011.

The reuse plan, now an official first draft, will go to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine for his review. The fort FADA is slated to review Kaine’s comments on the plan in August.

The reuse plan divides development into zones. Mixed-use development is called for in the area surrounding the stone fort. Existing buildings inside the stone fort would be converted, but nothing new would be built there. Parks and recreational facilities would be at the northernmost end.

"We think the plan as it's drafted now is consistent and gives us flexibility to work," said Bill Armbruster, the FADA's executive director. "It doesn’t mean we have to develop, doesn’t mean we have to infill, bring in an entity or a nonprofit."

Fort Monroe has been continuously operated by the Army since 1823. The Army will leave the fort via order of the Base Realignment and Closure commission. Numerous Fort Monroe entities will transfer to Fort Eustis in Newport News.

"The document can continue to be refined," said Preston Bryant, FADA's board chairman and Virginia's secretary of natural resources. "Is it a picture perfect document that meets everyone’s wish? Probably not. Is it one that meets most people’s wish? Probably."