thedrifter
01-24-09, 07:35 AM
Eager eyes already focusing on Naval Hospital property
Published Fri, Jan 23, 2009 12:00 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Port Royal officials already are talking about possible uses for the 127-acre piece of their jurisdiction on which Naval Hospital Beaufort now sits.
While acknowledging that the hospital's move-- if it moves at all -- likely is years away, town manager Van Willis said the town would be foolish not to think about what could be done with the expanse of waterfront property that could become available should the Naval Hospital move across town to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
"We want to avoid the perception that we're planning the fate of the Naval Hospital," he said. "This is still probably five to 10 years off, so we don't want to be too aggressive, but we'd be shortsighted not to think about possible uses for the property. We don't want to be caught flat-footed."
Though the town has yet to discuss what specifically they'd like to do with the land, opening up traffic to businesses near the Naval Hospital and improving public access to Fort Frederick, a British fort built in 1735 to protect Beaufort from Indians and Spaniards, are high priorities, said Joe Lee, Port Royal town councilman.
"We've always wanted access through that property to the water," he said. "There's a historic place down there that no one can get to. We would want to make it a minimal requirement to open that up."
A proposal for a new hospital has been submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast, which oversees construction for Marine Corps and Navy projects in seven states, including South Carolina. Funding for the new hospital has not been secured, though an area behind the MCAS Federal Credit Union has been slated as the proposed site for the new hospital, according to an air station spokesman.
Although the Navy says the soonest the project would begin is 2010, if funded, the town is discussing possible uses for the Naval Hospital property in the newest version of its comprehensive plan, expected to be completed this summer.
"It's obviously a long ways off, but it's certainly a huge opportunity," Lee said. "We'd like to be proactive and have a plan for that property before it gets sold and is out of our hands."
This is not the first time that the town has considered what it would do with the parcel, which includes the hospital, 53 homes, two barracks, a Navy exchange retail store, a gas station and a convenience store.
The town's most recent comprehensive plan, written in 2004,called for a study into future uses for the property should the hospital move or be closed. That study has not been conducted.
Given the size of the property and its significance, town planning manager Linda Bridges said she wouldn't delve too deeply into what should be done with the Naval Hospital land in the comprehensive plan.
"We are going to broach the subject, but it's such a unique situation and such a unique opportunity that it shouldn't be visited at this level in the comp plan," she said. "The scope and importance of this parcel would rise to the level of having its own master plan. It's a blank slate. It's sitting on 120-plus sparsely developed acres and there's a lot that can be done out there. A lot of folks have a vision for that property and are getting their head around those possibilities.
Former Beaufort County Councilman Skeet Von Harten said the Navy's proposal to build a new medical facility at the air station -- no matter how far in the future -- signifies a substantial financial commitment to the base and to the area.
Von Harten, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, was the chairman of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce's Military Enhancement Committee during the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, or BRAC.
"By modernizing the medical facility here, you'd be doing a good thing because the facility at the Naval Hospital is outdated and the costs to up-fit and modernize those facilities would certainly be great," he said. "It'd be a good thing for MCAS because you're providing the active duty Marines and the recruits with advanced medical care with that new facility.
"If Naval Hospital Beaufort were to close, we'd have to go to Naval Hospital Charleston to get health care, and that would be a bummer," he said.
Von Harten said a number of factors weigh strongly in the air station's favor when BRAC begins looking again to close or realign bases nationwide.
"You look at some of the criteria (to keep a base open)that they were looking at in 2005, and MCAS Beaufort has a lot of that," he said. "They have a lack of encroachment around the base and the ability to expand to accommodate new technologies and missions. Not to mention that the air station owns the air space in and around the air station, not the (Federal Aviation Administration)."
Base encroachment and increasingly crowded air space were reasons cited by the commission in 1991 for closing Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.
It is unknown when the commission will meet again, according to the Pentagon.
Nonetheless, Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling warned that the base will have to justify its existence to the Defense Secretary and BRAC, should the commission reconvene.
"The logical conclusion would be that (building a new facility) indicates a firm commitment to the air station, but you never really know," he said. "You don't know what they're thinking. All we can do is try to make Beaufort the best home they'll ever have."
Ellie
Published Fri, Jan 23, 2009 12:00 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Port Royal officials already are talking about possible uses for the 127-acre piece of their jurisdiction on which Naval Hospital Beaufort now sits.
While acknowledging that the hospital's move-- if it moves at all -- likely is years away, town manager Van Willis said the town would be foolish not to think about what could be done with the expanse of waterfront property that could become available should the Naval Hospital move across town to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
"We want to avoid the perception that we're planning the fate of the Naval Hospital," he said. "This is still probably five to 10 years off, so we don't want to be too aggressive, but we'd be shortsighted not to think about possible uses for the property. We don't want to be caught flat-footed."
Though the town has yet to discuss what specifically they'd like to do with the land, opening up traffic to businesses near the Naval Hospital and improving public access to Fort Frederick, a British fort built in 1735 to protect Beaufort from Indians and Spaniards, are high priorities, said Joe Lee, Port Royal town councilman.
"We've always wanted access through that property to the water," he said. "There's a historic place down there that no one can get to. We would want to make it a minimal requirement to open that up."
A proposal for a new hospital has been submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast, which oversees construction for Marine Corps and Navy projects in seven states, including South Carolina. Funding for the new hospital has not been secured, though an area behind the MCAS Federal Credit Union has been slated as the proposed site for the new hospital, according to an air station spokesman.
Although the Navy says the soonest the project would begin is 2010, if funded, the town is discussing possible uses for the Naval Hospital property in the newest version of its comprehensive plan, expected to be completed this summer.
"It's obviously a long ways off, but it's certainly a huge opportunity," Lee said. "We'd like to be proactive and have a plan for that property before it gets sold and is out of our hands."
This is not the first time that the town has considered what it would do with the parcel, which includes the hospital, 53 homes, two barracks, a Navy exchange retail store, a gas station and a convenience store.
The town's most recent comprehensive plan, written in 2004,called for a study into future uses for the property should the hospital move or be closed. That study has not been conducted.
Given the size of the property and its significance, town planning manager Linda Bridges said she wouldn't delve too deeply into what should be done with the Naval Hospital land in the comprehensive plan.
"We are going to broach the subject, but it's such a unique situation and such a unique opportunity that it shouldn't be visited at this level in the comp plan," she said. "The scope and importance of this parcel would rise to the level of having its own master plan. It's a blank slate. It's sitting on 120-plus sparsely developed acres and there's a lot that can be done out there. A lot of folks have a vision for that property and are getting their head around those possibilities.
Former Beaufort County Councilman Skeet Von Harten said the Navy's proposal to build a new medical facility at the air station -- no matter how far in the future -- signifies a substantial financial commitment to the base and to the area.
Von Harten, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, was the chairman of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce's Military Enhancement Committee during the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, or BRAC.
"By modernizing the medical facility here, you'd be doing a good thing because the facility at the Naval Hospital is outdated and the costs to up-fit and modernize those facilities would certainly be great," he said. "It'd be a good thing for MCAS because you're providing the active duty Marines and the recruits with advanced medical care with that new facility.
"If Naval Hospital Beaufort were to close, we'd have to go to Naval Hospital Charleston to get health care, and that would be a bummer," he said.
Von Harten said a number of factors weigh strongly in the air station's favor when BRAC begins looking again to close or realign bases nationwide.
"You look at some of the criteria (to keep a base open)that they were looking at in 2005, and MCAS Beaufort has a lot of that," he said. "They have a lack of encroachment around the base and the ability to expand to accommodate new technologies and missions. Not to mention that the air station owns the air space in and around the air station, not the (Federal Aviation Administration)."
Base encroachment and increasingly crowded air space were reasons cited by the commission in 1991 for closing Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.
It is unknown when the commission will meet again, according to the Pentagon.
Nonetheless, Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling warned that the base will have to justify its existence to the Defense Secretary and BRAC, should the commission reconvene.
"The logical conclusion would be that (building a new facility) indicates a firm commitment to the air station, but you never really know," he said. "You don't know what they're thinking. All we can do is try to make Beaufort the best home they'll ever have."
Ellie