BRAC Recommends Moving 23,000 Jobs Out of Arlington, Alexandria

WTOP ^ | Aug. 25, 2005 | MATTHEW BARAKAT

[chambley1]

McLEAN, Va. (AP) - A federal commission voted Thursday to move tens of thousands of military and civilian defense jobs from the close-in suburbs of northern Virginia to military bases outside the Capital Beltway despite concerns that such a massive jobs shift could create traffic nightmares.

In May, the Pentagon recommended to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission that 23,000 military and civilian defense employees working in leased office space in the suburbs of Alexandria and Arlington County be relocated to military bases outside the Capital Beltway, including Fort Belvoir, Va., Fort Meade, Md., and Quantico Marine Corps Base, Va.

The commission voted to support most of those recommendations in a series of votes Thursday morning. A few of the recommendations had not yet been voted on by the time the commission broke for lunch shortly after noon.

[.cnI redruM]

Crystal City, RIP.

[tfecw]

Maybe I can afford an apartment near work now.

[chambley1]

Tonight, Congressman Jim Moron will meet personally with Jim Beam in Old Town Alexandria, pondering new ways to appear patriotic.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Pop goes their housing bubble.

[.cnI redruM]

Maybe he'll beat up a ten year old kid again. He has some very unique ways of expressing his personal frustrations.

[.cnI redruM]

One would hope so. Alexandria, VA is utterly overpriced.

[Stashiu]

Crystal City/Pentagon City could be attacked by a 12yr old on a skateboard. About time they looked at physical security.

[battlecry]

Yes. My understanding is that Harvard U. owns the properties. I was surprised.

[RexBeach]

How could only 23-thousand jobs going elsewhere create traffic nightmares? Sounds like WTOP hyperbole.

BTW, shares of a real estate investment trust that owns A LOT of commercial property in Crystal City are up this day.

[afz400]

Now all Bush needs to do is recommend removal of the 23 million illegal Mexicans that live in Arlington. Oh I forgot - just "family values moving Northward". But he thinks more highly of them than he does his own countrymen so I guess that wont happen.

[Montfort]

"A federal commission voted Thursday to move tens of thousands of military and civilian defense jobs from the close-in suburbs of northern Virginia to military bases outside the Capital Beltway despite concerns that such a massive jobs shift could create traffic nightmares."

Yeah, right. Since most of the people who work in these buildings live outside the beltway, of course it would cause problems to let people drive to Fort Belvoir or Fort AP Hill or Quantico, rather than all converge on the same square mile of land in Arlington.

Okay, a few people who already own property close in will need to bite the bullet and trade in their 2 bedroom condo in Arlington for a 3,700 foot palace in Stafford or Prince William County. There will still be plenty of demand for these condos from people who work in DC and want to be close in.

[.cnI redruM]

>>>>How could only 23-thousand jobs going elsewhere create traffic nightmares?


23,000 fewer cars on The Beltway would make The Wilson Bridge passable.

[RexBeach]

It's not passable now...nor will it be passable when the new bridge opens. 23-thousand more commuters(if that's an accurate number) on the beltway or other major arterials outside the beltway is like a grain of sand in the mega rush hour of the Washington, DC metro area.

Thanks for the note!

[robowombat]

Not really. All this is is shuffling offices from leased space much of it in several dense office corridors in Arlington and moving the offices to new construction on military bases which are pretty much within the national capital footprint. Some people such as those whose jobs move Ft Meade may relocate. Not a big deal as it means selling and buying within the DC real estate market.

The $64 question is whether Congress will actually fund the military construction needed for the moves to take place. Let alone provide funding for the other infrastructure required (road expansion, parking lots, dining facilities, etc.) to support a radical increase in base populations. Ft. Belvior is a case in point. Its basic infrastructure is 1940-50s vintage with some band aiding. The base phone system is a true Rube Goldberg contraption being built around a 1950 something core, power interruptions are not uncommon due to inadequate number and size of connections to the local power grid. When the Engineer School moved out and the base became a Military District of Washington responsibility. Care and maintenance of the already old facility base took a nosedive. House keeping commands such as MDW were mercilessly battered in defunding during the Clintoon years' 'Efficiencies', as funds cuts were styled by that sorry crew. There has been some improvement in the last couple years and at least the grass gets mowed regularly and the pot holes patched. However, the narrow two lane lowspeed roads on the base laid out before World War 2 are jammed with traffic now. Building buildings for more workers without upgrading the rest of the infrastructure will only create a really dysfunctional situation.

The plans for many organizations is that moves will be spaced over 2-6 years. An eternity in politicized DC. Whether Congress will really support this complex shuffle with the dollars needed is an interesting question. Congress traditionally does not like to spend pork dollars around DC.

Whatever will happen the extended period of time involved to execute the project will muffle any impact. DC remains one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the US. The growth fed by the combination of telecommunications, government services contractors and computer services firms expanding operations steadily. The DC real estate market like most expensive cities is one that rises fast and then declines very slowly only at the very top margins. Residential real estate under $1M holds its value in between the price surges such as in the mid 80s and for the last couple years. There has not been since the Great Depression any significant value decline in DC area real estate. That is likely to remain true.

[stuartcr]

I'm surprised they didn't recommend moving them to Texas and Fla.

[zek157]

NAVAIR move to Pax River in 98 was a similar nightmare. 30-45 minutes to move 3-4 miles to the main gate. That was before the tightened security. It will be tough. Only good thing is most people will not have to move. Pax River was a 70 mile drive each way.

Long term it will be great for commercial real estate in Crystal City. Premium space with metro. Business will fill the gap at a higher rate.

[KC_Conspirator]

This is very stupid. Its all because of a new clause that DoD buildings have to be like 80 ft. from the curb of the street. Stupid.

[RightWhale]

The $64 question is whether Congress will actually fund the military construction needed for the moves to take place.

Tents on the parade grounds should keep the rain off the 23,000 metal desks.

[KC_Conspirator]

Um, but many people going to Crystal/Pentagon City use the metro. These people are going to try to cram onto 2 lane roads out by Ft. Belvior.