[CPEO-MEF] MacDill AFB (FL) reuse questions

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Rosy outlook of closed MacDill turns gloomy


A positive 1992 study of how a closed MacDill AFB may be redeveloped is
no longer relevant, many say.

By PAUL DE LA GARZA
St. Petersburg Times (FL) 
April 4, 2005

TAMPA - If MacDill Air Force Base closed, the redeveloped land on the
tip of South Tampa could look something like this:

--Luxury homes by the water with views of downtown and St. Petersburg,
as well as apartments and housing for military retirees.

--A stadium for baseball spring training, an Olympic training facility
for rowing, cross country skiing, or speed skating - and perhaps even a
movie studio.

--Canoe trails for nature lovers along the wetlands and mangroves,
providing rare glimpses of river otters and bald eagles.

That was how, in 1992, city planners and more than 100 educational,
financial and civic advisers envisioned MacDill emerging, after a
federal commission decided to close part of the base, according to an
exhaustive, 600-page study of alternative uses for MacDill commissioned
by the city of Tampa.

...

Thirteen years later, the study is notable because it contradicts the
gloomy assessment by those fighting to keep MacDill open during the
current round of base closings. In mid May the Base Realignment Closure
Commission is scheduled to release a list of bases recommended to be closed.

MacDill supporters argue that if it closed, the property would be
rendered all but useless, contaminated by decades of military use and
prone to flooding. They say the cost of redeveloping MacDill would be prohibitive.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/04/04/Hillsborough/Rosy_outlook_of_close.shtml

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@list.cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org/mailman/listinfo/military