Press Release - January 2009

New Video

Panel Discussion on Fort Monroe

Update: Role for the National Park Service at Fort Monroe.

• Just to give some background, Representative Thelma Drake requested the National Park Service to conduct a Reconnaissance Study.
• The purpose was to determine whether Fort Monroe and its resources met the criteria for a more in-depth Special Resource Study.
• The NPS concluded that Fort Monroe and its resources have significant historic value. However, they also stated that it is unlikely that a Special Resource Study would find that it is feasible for the NPS to manage, maintain and operate the full range of resources associated with Fort Monroe.

NPS study

FMFADA/Commonwealth Statement about the NPS study

• The Fort Monroe FADA believes Fort Monroe is worthy of an affiliation with the National Park Service and we are confident that we will achieve a partnership.
• The NPS presented several partnership options to the Fort Monroe FADA Board meeting on November 20, 2008 meeting.

National Park Service Options (50 minutes)—Terrence Moore, Chief, Park Planning and Regional Studies, NE Region, National Park Service, the presentation may be view at the link below:

http://www.fmfada.com/pdf/NPS_Presentation_11-20-08.pdf

• During the Fort Monroe FADA board meeting on January 6, 2009, Bill Armbruster announced that a committee of the board, made up of three members from the board and three members of the Historic Preservation Advisory Group would review these options and make recommendations to the board.
• There recommendations will be presented at our March 19, 2009 meeting.
• We are working toward a non-traditional partnership with NPS that is very particularly defined, likely, in the area of education and historic interpretation.

Update: Old Point Comfort Seashore Park at Fort Monroe.

• The Trust for Public Land presented at the Fort Monroe FADA January 6, 2009 board meeting. The TPL study was commissioned by the Fort Monroe National Park Foundation, a sister organization, to the Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park. The presentation can be viewed here.
• The Fort Monroe FADA started the reuse planning guided by five priorities:
  • Protect this historic place
  • Open it up to public use
  • Establish a large open-space park
  • Achieve economic sustainability
  • New development, within strict limits
• Executive Director Bill Armbruster’s quote regarding the TPL study is:
  
  "The study says we need more parkland in Hampton Roads, we agree, and we are committed to providing a large-scale open space seashore park. In the approved reuse plan, signed by Governor Tim Kaine, 40% of the Old Point Comfort land will be used as a shoreline park with beach access for all. Recreational tourism at Old Point Comfort for locals and visitors alike is part of what we plan to market."

Update: Federal Funding Request for Fort Monroe

This is the link to view the presentation made to the board by Bill Armbruster at the January 6, 2009 board meeting:

http://www.fmfada.com/pdf/Armbruster1-6-09.ppt#2

January 2009, Press Release is below:

For Immediate Release

Press Contact: Bill Armbruster at barmbruster@FMFADA.com or 767- 637-7778

Fort Monroe welcomes the New Year with implementation

Hampton, VA….January 6, 2009…The board meeting of the Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority will begin the New Year with a call to action by Executive Director, Bill Armbruster, who will discuss collaborative efforts underway with the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Hampton, as well as the Fort Monroe FADA Federal Economic Stimulus request. The FMFADA is asking Congress for $96.5 million in Federal funding to include the completion of the partially funded Army Corps flood protection project, and to perform infrastructure upgrades needed to transition Fort Monroe to the standards required by municipal, VDOT and utility providers.

"Our analysis indicates that this investment in Federal dollars can stimulate $436 million in private capital and generate a total of 1,130 jobs." Armbruster adds, “Hampton Mayor Ward and I jointly met with members of our congressional delegation and they are all eager to bring jobs to Hampton Roads. This funding request will be part of the Federal Economic Stimulus Package because the majority of the work can be completed in two years.

David Shiver from Bay Area Economics, a consultant for the Fort Monroe FADA, will present a framework for the selection of one or more development/management partners to work with the FMFADA on rehabilitation of historic structures and the construction of a new neighborhood in the North Gate area overlooking Mill Creek. Both projects are in the approved reuse plan, signed by Governor Kaine in August, 2008. The selection process is expected to take a year or more.

Armbruster, who takes the long view, states, "We are entering the eighth period of more than 400 years of development at Old Point Comfort. The first, from 1607 – 1818 was dominated by exploration when John Smith named Point Comfort, and built defensive works on the Point. Today, January 6, 2009, we are only 980 days from the beginning of Fort Monroe’s new role as a vibrant community, with residential neighborhoods, historic attractions and waterfront recreation available for visitors and locals. On September 14, 2011, this national landmark will be open to all."

The Fort Monroe FADA meetings are open to the public. Visitors to www.fmfada.com can view the reuse plan, approved on August 20, 2008, and technical studies that informed the planning.

The Fort Monroe FADA is the official "Local Redevelopment Authority" (LRA) recognized by the Department of Defense. The task of the FMFADA, a political sub-division of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is to study, plan and implement the reuse plan for Old Point Comfort after the Army officially closes the Fort Monroe installation in 2011.

The Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority (FMFADA) is governed by an 18 member body consisting of appointees by the city of Hampton, the Virginia General Assembly, and Governor-appointed cabinet members and specialists in historic preservation and heritage tourism.

Editor’s Notes:

• The January 6, 2009 Fort Monroe FADA board meeting is located at the Bay Breeze Community Center, Fenwick Drive on Fort Monroe from 1:00-4:00 pm.
• On January 9, 2009, a panel discussion to answer citizen's questions about Fort Monroe will be aired live on Channel 47 at 4:00 p.m.

Fort Monroe's Eight Periods of Development

1607 – 1818: Colonial Period - Virginia Company, with John Smith, land and name Point Comfort; Smith builds defensive works on the Point at the mouth of the James River/Hampton Roads where the channel was narrowest. Colonial Period; dominated by exploration and settlement; temporary fortifications; lighthouse; Fort Algernourne was established at Old Point Comfort in 1609 by Captain John Smith and was destroyed by a fire in 1612; Fort George was built on Old Point Comfort in 1727 and guarded the Hampton Roads Harbor until 1749, when it was destroyed by a hurricane.

1819 – 1860: Fort Monroe is the third oldest active military installation ~ first garrisoned by the United States in 1823. Fort Monroe has the largest stone fort ever built in America. Federal Period; Construction Period; Artillery School of Practice; dominated by the construction of the fort and essential military buildings

1861- 1865: Civil War; dominated by influx of personnel and supplies necessary for the war effort; fortification remained in Union hands. During the Civil War, Fort Monroe was one of only four permanent Union forts never taken by the Confederacy.

Fort Monroe was secure enough to house President Abraham Lincoln, who visited the Fort during the height of the war. Fort Monroe earned the name "Freedom's Fortress" when Major General Benjamin F. Butler, refused to return slaves who escaped to Fort Monroe during the Civil War. The Monitor and Merrimack fought their epic battle off the shores of Fort Monroe. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was also imprisoned at Fort Monroe.

1866 – 1899: Post-Civil War Expansion; period dominated by an Army building renovation campaign and construction of first Endicott Batteries iii

1900 – 1929: Early Twentieth Century Development; dominated by the construction of the newly-reorganized Coast Artillery School and the necessary support buildings (1905 – 1915)

1930 – 1945: Depression/WWII Development; dominated by the construction under

Depression work programs and World War II temporary structures

1946 – 2008: Post-WWII Development; Wherry Housing

2011— 2031: Fort Monroe National Landmark transitions from an Army base to a vibrant community, with residential neighborhoods, historic attractions and waterfront recreation and a seashore park available to visitors and locals.