Background
1. What is BRAC?
"BRAC" is an acronym that stands for base realignment and closure. It is the process the Department of Defense (DoD) has used to reorganize its base structure to more efficiently and effectively support the Armed Forces, increase operational readiness and facilitate new ways of doing business. BRAC 2005 includes several recommendations affecting Fort Belvoir that will result in the relocation of 59 DoD agencies and activities, primarily from the Washington, DC metropolitan area onto Fort Belvoir property in Virginia.
2. Who is in charge of the Fort Belvoir BRAC realignment?
The Garrison Commander, Colonel Jerry Blixt, oversees the BRAC mandates. He is the Army’s link between Fort Belvoir and the surrounding community on BRAC planning. He is assisted by Colonel Mark Moffatt, Deputy Garrison Commander for Transformation and BRAC, other installation staff, and Belvoir New Vision Planners (BNVP), a team of experienced managers, engineers, architects, and environmental and transportation planners. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is responsible for the construction of the facilities and infrastructure that will support the incoming tenants.
3. Who are the Belvoir New Vision Planners?
BNVP is a partnership between PBS&J and Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM). BNVP has the primary responsibility for performing the required planning, engineering and architectural work. BNVP is being assisted by a number of sub-consultants who are specialists in their fields. The team is comprised of people with long-standing ties to Northern Virginia, people who live here and who are intimately familiar with the challenges of the region’s growth and development.
4. How will the new development on Fort Belvoir affect the daily operations of the post?
A key development planning principle is that the new construction cannot interfere with Fort Belvoir’s daily operations. Fort Belvoir will continue to accomplish its important mission to support warfighters on a day-to-day basis as the new organizations are brought on post. This is another example of the Army’s ability to adapt to change.
5. How many new employees are being realigned to Fort Belvoir as a result of BRAC?
There will be a net gain of approximately 19,300 employees at Fort Belvoir.
6. When will the projects be completed?
By law, the realignment of Fort Belvoir must be completed by September 15, 2011.
Environmental Impact Statement
1. What type of environmental study was performed?
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was prepared that analyzed any potential significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts associated with implementing the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations and Fort Belvoir’s updated Real Property Master Plan. Effects on historical, environmental, transportation, and economical resources were considered along with other potential community impacts.
2. Who was responsible for the EIS?
The Directorate of Public Works (DPW) at Fort Belvoir was responsible for the development of the EIS. They employed Tetra-Tech, Inc. to assist them with this project. Tetra-Tech is also one of the partners on the Belvoir New Vision Planners (BNVP) team. Information about the EIS may be found at http://www.tetratech-ffx.com/belvoir_braceis.
3. What alternatives did the EIS evaluate?
The EIS evaluated Preferred, Town Center, City Center, Satellite Campuses, and No Action alternatives. For more information regarding these alternatives, please visit http://www.tetratech-ffx.com/belvoir_braceis.
4. Which alternative was selected?
The Record of Decision (ROD) directed the Army to proceed with the Preferred Alternative, except that the decision on where to locate facilities for BRAC 133 and the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Family Travel Camp were deferred pending further study and additional NEPA documentation. Subsequently, the decision was made to locate facilities for BRAC 133 at the Mark Center in Alexandria, Va.
5. Did the public have the opportunity to participate in the EIS process?
The public participated in a variety of ways throughout the EIS process. Several public meetings were held, including a Public Scoping Meeting on June 7, 2006, a Public Information Meeting on January 24, 2007, and a Draft EIS Public Hearing on April 17, 2007. In addition, there were two opportunities to submit public comments during the process.
Incoming Personnel/Agencies
1. Where will the new agencies and employees be located?
After the completion of a thorough environmental study, a Record of Decision (ROD) was published on August 10, 2007, which determined the locations for most of the incoming agencies and employees. Major incoming agencies, activities, and employees will be sited as follows:
• National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in the Fort Belvoir North Area (formerly the Engineering Proving Ground or EPG).
• Army Lease units, agencies, and activities on South Post.
• U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) facilities and the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital on the South Post.
• Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on South Post.
• BRAC 133 personnel, including Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) activities, at the Mark Center in Alexandria, Va.
• Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) located to the north of Charlottesville, Va. in Albemarle County.
2. What is the NGA?
NGA is a DoD combat support agency and a member of the National Intelligence Community. Its mission is to provide timely, relevant and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of our national security. The term “geospatial intelligence” means the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. Currently headquartered in Bethesda, Md., NGA has major facilities in the greater Washington, DC and St. Louis, Mo. areas, with NGA support teams worldwide.
NGA will be located in a new $1.77 billion, 2.4 million square foot facility in the Fort Belvoir North Area, which will consolidate operations currently located in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The consolidation will support a unified organization and culture; provide state-of-the-art facilities at a single location, which will enable integrated operations, as well as increased force protection and mission assurance; and reduce facility operation and maintenance costs. Groundbreaking for NGA’s new facility occurred on September 25, 2007, and its workforce will begin moving into the facility in 2010.
3. What can you tell me about the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital?
The Fort Belvoir Community Hospital is a new 1.3 million square foot, $806.9 million state-of-the-art hospital that will be located on the South Post. The hospital will be part of an integrated health care network providing world-class medical services to service members and veterans, and includes the realignment of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. All planning for the new hospital at Fort Belvoir in the south is directly tied to planning for the National Naval Medical Center in the north. The new hospital will replace the current 52-year-old facility, which was dedicated in May 1957. The hospital will grow from 46 to 120 beds, and will add approximately 2,000 staff members to the existing 1,300. Groundbreaking for the hospital occurred on November 8, 2007. The hospital is expected to be completed in Spring 2011.
4. What is PEO EIS?
Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) is a world-class leader in the acquisition and implementation of integrated enterprise-wide communication, information technology and business solutions for America’s warfighting and peacekeeping forces. PEO EIS provides joint service and Army warfighters with information dominance by developing, acquiring, integrating, deploying and sustaining network-centric knowledge-based information technology and business management systems, communications and infrastructure solutions through leveraged commercial and enterprise capabilities that support the total Army. Elements of the PEO EIS will be moved from Fort Monmouth, N.J. and consolidated into the PEO EIS operations already located at Fort Belvoir, Va. PEO EIS will be located on South Post.
5. What is MDA?
MDA is an agency under the DoD. Its mission is to develop, test and prepare for deployment of a missile defense system. Using complementary interceptors, land-, sea-, air- and space-based sensors and battle management command and control systems, the planned missile defense system will be able to engage all classes and ranges of ballistic missile threats. MDA’s programmatic strategy is to develop, rigorously test and continuously evaluate production, deployment and operational alternatives for the ballistic missile defense system to provide emerging warfighting capability. MDA’s Headquarters Command Center (HQCC) will be located on Main Post.
6. Does Fort Belvoir own the Mark Center BRAC 133 property?
The acquisition strategy for the 16-acre parcel known as the Mark Center property was for the Department of the Army to purchase the land and the developer to build the facility by September 15, 2011. The real property document is currently held by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), one of the real estate arms of the federal government. In 2011, the property will be administratively assigned to Fort Belvoir for operational concerns.
Transportation
1. What road improvements are planned on post or in the vicinity of Fort Belvoir?
The principal artery roads on the Main Post will be widened, the existing Gunston Road bridge will be replaced with a new bridge, and the existing impacted utilities on post will be relocated. In addition, new traffic signals, sidewalks, and street lighting will be constructed on post to allow safe and acceptable pedestrian and vehicular traffic mobility for the Fort Belvoir community and the new Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) tenants. New security and entrance gates will also be constructed and access control points will be improved.
Please review the Information Fact Sheet: Transportation Projects for information and graphics relative to the planned improvements to roads, intersections, and access control points on the Main Post, in the Fort Belvoir North Area, and at certain off-post locations. The September 2009 issue of the newsletter also contains information and graphics regarding infrastructure and transportation projects. Please note that some of the projects identified in the graphics are non-BRAC projects.
For additional information regarding certain projects, please see the links provided below.
2. What is the status of the Fairfax County Parkway extension project?
The Fairfax County Parkway (Route 7100) extension project, which will provide a connection for motorists from Route 1 in the south to Route 7 in the north, is now fully funded. The extension project has been divided into the following four phases:
Phase 1: Construction of four through lanes between Donegal Lane and Fullerton Road, as well as the partial extension of Boudinot Drive to the Fairfax County Parkway and partial construction of a grade separated loop ramp.
Phase 2: Construction of a partial cloverleaf interchange connecting the Fairfax County Parkway to Rolling Road and the Fort Belvoir North Area access road.
Phase 3: Relocation of Hooes Road and Rolling Road with improvements to the Franconia-Springfield Parkway interchange at the Fairfax County Parkway.
Phase 4: Completion of the extension of Boudinot Drive to the Fairfax County Parkway and construction of a grade separated loop ramp.
For additional information regarding the Fairfax County Parkway extension project and access from I-95 to the Fort Belvoir North Area, please visit the project web sites at http://www.fairfaxcountyparkway.org/ and http://www.fcparkway.com/, or the VA Mega Projects web site at http://www.vamegaprojects.com/about-megaprojects/fairfax-county-parkwaybrac/.
3. Will access be provided from I-95 to the Fort Belvoir North Area (formerly the Engineering Proving Ground or EPG)?
Plans are underway to construct a ramp that will connect the I-95 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) slip ramp to Heller Road. This single-lane, reversible ramp will provide a direct connection between I-95 and the Fort Belvoir North Area.
In addition, the existing ramp from southbound I-95 to the Fairfax County Parkway and Heller Road will be widened with an additional barrier-separated lane, which will provide dedicated access to the Fort Belvoir North Area for Department of Defense (DoD) personnel only.
4. Is an alternative to Woodlawn Road being constructed?
Yes, the construction of Mulligan Road, which will connect Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1) and Telegraph Road (VA Route 611) is well underway. The widening of a portion of Telegraph Road and the realignment of the intersection of Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Old Mill Road, and Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1) will also be performed as part of this project. For more information, please visit http://www.efl.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/rhtrc.aspx.
National Museum of the U.S. Army
1. What is the National Museum of the United States Army?
The National Army Museum will tell the story of the U.S. Army as an institution and be a tribute to America’s Soldiers. It will be a forum for the education, edification, and inspiration of members of the Armed Forces, the public, and all those seeking knowledge about the history of the Army. The American people will gain a greater awareness of the part that the Army played in shaping their heritage. The museum will preserve, study, and interpret Army culture (currently estimated at 750,000 artifacts and works of art); educate Army personnel in the history, traditions, and accomplishments of their profession; provide a research and development base for new military equipment; and train Army museum personnel.
2. Is the museum part of BRAC?
No. However, because a final decision on where to site the museum had not been made at the time the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations for Fort Belvoir were announced in 2005, a decision on where to site the museum was deferred. Determining locations for the mission facilities moving to Fort Belvoir under BRAC must take priority over the museum’s siting.
3. Where will the Army Museum be located?
A final decision on the location of the museum has not been determined, but it will be on Fort Belvoir’s Main Post. The preferred alternative is off of the Fairfax County Parkway.
4. When will the museum open?
The museum is tentatively scheduled to open in 2013.
For more information regarding the National Army Museum, please visit http://www.armyhistory.org/ahf.aspx?pgID=882.
Business Opportunities
1. How does a private contractor find out about doing business with Fort Belvoir in relation to Base Realignment and Closure activities and/or projects?
Contracting opportunities can be found on the Federal Business Opportunities web site (www.fedbizopps.gov or www.fbo.gov) or the Army Single Face to Industry (ASFI) Acquisition Business web site (https://acquisition.army.mil/asfi/). You may also contact the Capital District Contracting Center (CDCC) at Fort Belvoir at (703) 806-0136.
Environment
1. What is being done to protect the environment with all of the new construction on Fort Belvoir?
Environmentally sensitive areas will be protected and natural areas maintained as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) projects. Additionally, the Department of Defense (DoD) has adopted a facilities management strategy based on energy efficient design, including the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™. LEED encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. LEED is a 69-point scale measuring sustainability developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a self-rating tool with third party USGBC audits.
BRAC construction is being executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) using the LEED Green Building Rating System™. Looking forward, USACE has mandated that all new U.S. Army projects be LEED certifiable starting in the federal government’s 2008 fiscal year. Project owners need not apply for certification, but the buildings must be constructed in such a way that would make them LEED certifiable. New construction in support of BRAC will be LEED Silver certified.