AIPC

Navy is expected to release up to 350 acres on west side

Navy is expected to release up to 350 acres on west side

By Matt Sheley/Daily News staff
March 20, 2008

By Matt Sheley/Daily News staff March 20, 2008

By Matt Sheley/Daily News staff
March 20, 2008

The tank farms, former Naval Hospital and Navy Lodge properties are expected to be declared “excess” and released by the Navy.

During a closed-door meeting Wednesday afternoon at Newport City Hall, Navy officials informed Aquidneck Island leaders of their intention to free up 350 acres of prime waterfront real estate.

Navy officials said the announcement was intended to give Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth advance notice about what is expected to be recommended in a Naval Station Newport master plan, scheduled to be completed by June.

The Navy is looking for “fair market value” for the properties.

Municipal officials from the three island communities applauded the Navy at the end of Wednesday’s briefing and said they have quite a bit of work ahead in preparation for the release of those federal properties.

“We just wanted to put our cards on the table and get that message out there about the steps the communities are going to have to go through,” said Capt. Michel T. Poirier, commanding officer of Naval Station Newport. “It’s an exciting process and I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’re all in this together.”

A long way to go

Each island community already had considered ideas for the properties, should they be excessed as part of the Navy’s master plan, which is being guided by consultants EDAW Inc. of Alexandria, Va. The master plan was scheduled for an April release, but Poirier said delays in the review process pushed that back two months.

The study was initiated after Naval Station Newport was spared from cuts during the August 2005 round of the Base Realignment and Closure process. In fact, the local base instead added 530 positions and gained several commands.

At the two-hour-plus meeting Wednesday, those on-hand said the Navy — led by Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Kimberly Kesler and Navy Base Closure Manager Gregory Preston — reiterated the need for BRAC officials to work with the three communities through locally established redevelopment agencies.

“That’s one of the steps of the BRAC process,” Kesler said. “It’s not like we’re not dealing with the communities because they’re the ones who establish the redevelopment agencies.”

Given the complexity of the process and amount of cleanup expected at some of the properties, Navy officials have said it likely will be years before anything happens with most of the sites. That opinion was reiterated Wednesday afternoon by Kesler.

Besides the Navy and municipal officials, the Newport County Chamber of Commerce and the offices of Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I., had representatives at Wednesday’s meeting.

Tina Dolen, executive director of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, said she is pleased with what she heard because it moves the West Side Master Plan one step closer to becoming a reality.

“This is very real,” Dolen said. “They were here to share some information and I don’t think anyone came away from the table disappointed.”

Municipal views

Island officials widely agree that Portsmouth has the most riding on the process, given the fact most of the impacted Navy property — 269 acres — is in the island’s northernmost community.

Those parcels, formerly used as fuel storage depots, have been unused for years and are in need of an additional cleanup, at an estimated cost by Navy officials of about $25 million.

That total doesn’t include the 67 acres along Burma Road, also known as Defense Highway, that stretches into Middletown and was once home to a transfer station.

To prepare for the possibility of the land becoming available, Portsmouth formed a redevelopment agency and amended the zoning of certain areas to ease its future use, with a focus on marine trades and housing.

“One thing I was happy to hear was the Navy appreciates that the cleanup is their responsibility and one they take very seriously,” said James A. Seveney, Portsmouth Town Council vice president. “That’s huge and this whole process is important to Portsmouth. It’s a significant amount of acreage and something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”

For Newport, a number of options have been considered for the future of the old Naval Hospital property, including condominiums, a hotel and a marina being mentioned in the city’s North End Master Plan.

Paperwork handed out by the Navy at the meeting indicated that the 3-acre site at the corner of Cyprus and Third streets looks as if it’s on the fast track to becoming former Navy property, with asbestos and lead-paint cleanup the primary issue.

Councilwoman Kathryn E. Leonard said she believes Newport should put itself in a position to try to buy the Naval Hospital.

“It’s an important property for the city,” she said. “When you think about the possibility of job development and public access, I think we should do whatever we can.”

In Middletown, a fishing pier and community park is the leading plan for an area off Defense Highway, according to the planning commission’s West Side Master Plan, which is one of the documents guiding development along Narragansett Bay from downtown Newport to the Mount Hope Bridge in Portsmouth.

As for the former Navy Lodge site at the corner of Coddington Highway and West Main Road, Middletown officials have said that parcel would mesh nicely with the town’s recreational complex next door. Navy paperwork indicated that property also could be on the fast track for disposal, with no environmental issues holding its release back.

The lone site that was considered for release but didn’t make the list was Tank Farm 5 in Middletown, which currently hosts the Firefighter Training Center, although Navy officials said that property still could be added to the list.

Shawn J. Brown, Middletown’s interim town administrator, said that was the only unexpected change from what the town has heard.

“It’s a big announcement and I think the communities are prepared,” Brown said. “There’s been a lot of discussion and we’ve been preparing for this day for a long time and I think everyone credits the Navy for their work on this.”

Navy is expected to release up to 350 acres on west side

By Matt Sheley/Daily News staff
March 20, 2008

The tank farms, former Naval Hospital and Navy Lodge properties are expected to be declared “excess” and released by the Navy.

During a closed-door meeting Wednesday afternoon at Newport City Hall, Navy officials informed Aquidneck Island leaders of their intention to free up 350 acres of prime waterfront real estate.

Navy officials said the announcement was intended to give Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth advance notice about what is expected to be recommended in a Naval Station Newport master plan, scheduled to be completed by June.

The Navy is looking for “fair market value” for the properties.

Municipal officials from the three island communities applauded the Navy at the end of Wednesday’s briefing and said they have quite a bit of work ahead in preparation for the release of those federal properties.

“We just wanted to put our cards on the table and get that message out there about the steps the communities are going to have to go through,” said Capt. Michel T. Poirier, commanding officer of Naval Station Newport. “It’s an exciting process and I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’re all in this together.”

A long way to go

Each island community already had considered ideas for the properties, should they be excessed as part of the Navy’s master plan, which is being guided by consultants EDAW Inc. of Alexandria, Va. The master plan was scheduled for an April release, but Poirier said delays in the review process pushed that back two months.

The study was initiated after Naval Station Newport was spared from cuts during the August 2005 round of the Base Realignment and Closure process. In fact, the local base instead added 530 positions and gained several commands.

At the two-hour-plus meeting Wednesday, those on-hand said the Navy — led by Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Kimberly Kesler and Navy Base Closure Manager Gregory Preston — reiterated the need for BRAC officials to work with the three communities through locally established redevelopment agencies.

“That’s one of the steps of the BRAC process,” Kesler said. “It’s not like we’re not dealing with the communities because they’re the ones who establish the redevelopment agencies.”

Given the complexity of the process and amount of cleanup expected at some of the properties, Navy officials have said it likely will be years before anything happens with most of the sites. That opinion was reiterated Wednesday afternoon by Kesler.

Besides the Navy and municipal officials, the Newport County Chamber of Commerce and the offices of Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I., had representatives at Wednesday’s meeting.

Tina Dolen, executive director of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, said she is pleased with what she heard because it moves the West Side Master Plan one step closer to becoming a reality.

“This is very real,” Dolen said. “They were here to share some information and I don’t think anyone came away from the table disappointed.”

Municipal views

Island officials widely agree that Portsmouth has the most riding on the process, given the fact most of the impacted Navy property — 269 acres — is in the island’s northernmost community.

Those parcels, formerly used as fuel storage depots, have been unused for years and are in need of an additional cleanup, at an estimated cost by Navy officials of about $25 million.

That total doesn’t include the 67 acres along Burma Road, also known as Defense Highway, that stretches into Middletown and was once home to a transfer station.

To prepare for the possibility of the land becoming available, Portsmouth formed a redevelopment agency and amended the zoning of certain areas to ease its future use, with a focus on marine trades and housing.

“One thing I was happy to hear was the Navy appreciates that the cleanup is their responsibility and one they take very seriously,” said James A. Seveney, Portsmouth Town Council vice president. “That’s huge and this whole process is important to Portsmouth. It’s a significant amount of acreage and something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”

For Newport, a number of options have been considered for the future of the old Naval Hospital property, including condominiums, a hotel and a marina being mentioned in the city’s North End Master Plan.

Paperwork handed out by the Navy at the meeting indicated that the 3-acre site at the corner of Cyprus and Third streets looks as if it’s on the fast track to becoming former Navy property, with asbestos and lead-paint cleanup the primary issue.

Councilwoman Kathryn E. Leonard said she believes Newport should put itself in a position to try to buy the Naval Hospital.

“It’s an important property for the city,” she said. “When you think about the possibility of job development and public access, I think we should do whatever we can.”

In Middletown, a fishing pier and community park is the leading plan for an area off Defense Highway, according to the planning commission’s West Side Master Plan, which is one of the documents guiding development along Narragansett Bay from downtown Newport to the Mount Hope Bridge in Portsmouth.

As for the former Navy Lodge site at the corner of Coddington Highway and West Main Road, Middletown officials have said that parcel would mesh nicely with the town’s recreational complex next door. Navy paperwork indicated that property also could be on the fast track for disposal, with no environmental issues holding its release back.

The lone site that was considered for release but didn’t make the list was Tank Farm 5 in Middletown, which currently hosts the Firefighter Training Center, although Navy officials said that property still could be added to the list.

Shawn J. Brown, Middletown’s interim town administrator, said that was the only unexpected change from what the town has heard.

“It’s a big announcement and I think the communities are prepared,” Brown said. “There’s been a lot of discussion and we’ve been preparing for this day for a long time and I think everyone credits the Navy for their work on this.”