Fort Monroe is getting a financial boost in Virginia’s long-debated budget approved this week.
More than $15 million will go to the 565-acre fortress owned by the commonwealth and the National Park Service.
Twelve million will pay for utility upgrades in the inner fort. The once-U.S. Army base’s utility infrastructure has aged, with some portions now up to 75 years old.
“If the Army was still here, they would have had to replace it as well,” CEO Scott Martin said Tuesday. “In a saltwater environment, they just have a lifespan.”
The upgrades will prepare some of Fort Monroe’s vacant buildings for reuse, according to Martin. Outdated utilities have plagued redevelopment since the Army turned it over in 2011.
“Water, sewers, pipes, restrooms" Martin said," that’s the space the state can fulfil.”
Another $1.8 million will transform one of the vacant battery buildings between Outlook Beach and the African Landing Memorial Plaza into a cafe and gathering area. The structure will also include a long-desired addition of public restrooms. The fort currently has none near its shoreline.
“The Army didn’t really need to worry about that, but as a public landscape that becomes one of our primary uses,” Martin said.
The final chunk of money, $1.8 million, is paying for the Fort Monroe Authority’s landscape action plan. When completed by the end of the year, it will detail how to maintain the fort’s historic core while reimagining the site into a walkable public landscape that leaders hope can compete with the likes of Crissy Field at the Presidio in San Francisco, a former Army airfield that’s become one of the most popular park sites in the country.
“It’s about timelessness,” Martin said. “You’re not building towards a trend of the moment, you’re building something longer range if you get it right.”
The plan will take private investment. The design is still in its early phases and will likely cost millions to realize. The Authority’s board is looking at which buildings and roads have a future at the fort.
“If it’s not a contributing building to the historical landmark and the fabric, it probably needs to go,” Martin said. “There’s going to be a giant cleanse of the site about what do we really need for the next 50 years of the site, what should we retain, what’s an asset that should be built around?”
