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Report compares BRAC sites
Fort Belvoir's preparation for the incoming throngs of defense department workers in 2011 is almost in full swing, and this week's public release of an environmental assessment puts the Army one step closer to making a decision on where the final piece of the puzzle will be placed.
That piece is the location for 6,400 employees and multiple offices for Washington Headquarters Services.
The 400-page assessment evaluates the environmental and socioeconomic effects of building on one of the two sites in Alexandria or on the Springfield site in contention for WHS.
The Alexandria sites are the Victory Center on Eisenhower Ave. and the Mark Center on Seminary Road. The Springfield site is the General Services Administration warehouse property along Loisdale Road.
"The GSA site has always been and continues to be to best site," Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay (D) said. "Van Dorn Street (intersecting Eisenhower Avenue) cannot take the traffic of Victory Center and Mark Center is not transit-friendly. The GSA site is already owned by the federal government, is transit friendly and currently is a poster child of dumb growth."
However, Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille (D) contends that the sites in his city do have merit.
"We have a lot more positive characteristics and factors in place," Euille said. "May the best jurisdiction win."
The GSA site and Victory Center are a half-mile from Metro stations and near major highways. Although near Interstate 395, the Mark Center is four miles away from the nearest Metro station.
The study said that the greatest impacts at the GSA site would be on local roads, since the county has not planned for road improvements, despite multiple neighboring projects such as the Springfield Mall redevelopment beginning this summer.
In contrast, improvements on the roadways surrounding both developments in Alexandria are "already part of regional plans and fewer additional transportation mitigation measures are required, making these sites available and more suitable from a transportation perspective for occupation," the report said.
Environmentally, the GSA and Victory Center sites would have a minimal impact, while building on the Mark Center would tear up forested areas, according to the assessment.
The public may comment on the environmental assessment through Aug. 13. Visit www.belvoirbrac-eis.net for more information.
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