Ord Transition
Groundwork started on development

3/06/2007 | by By Jim Johnson, Herald Salinas Bureau

ORD TRANSITION

Groundwork started on development

By JIM JOHNSON

Herald Salinas Bureau

DAVID ROYAL/The Herald

Work is well under way at East Garrison on Fort Ord.

The earth is moving out at East Garrison.

Behind a security fence, the first signs of construction -- mass grading, tree removal and building demolition -- are well under way on the site of the long-planned community development on the former Army base at Fort Ord. Located on a bluff above the Salinas Valley just south of Reservation Road, the site was once used as a tent city by the Army during World War II.

According to project developers, the current site work began Feb. 5, just a few days after the developers received their permits from the county. Once the site is prepped, the developers will begin installing the planned community's streets, utility systems and other infrastructure. The work is expected to take 18 months to complete.

Meanwhile, the developers are planning an official groundbreaking ceremony sometime in the spring, perhaps as soon as next month, for the project which has earned acclaim for its use of "sustainable growth" principles.

In fact, Supervisor Dave Potter said he was devastated when he heard that the developers were planning an April 11 ceremony. Potter, who was a key backer of the project, said he'll be at a state Coastal Commission meeting in Santa Barbara on that date.

"It's one groundbreaking I really wanted to be at," Potter said. "This is one project I went to bat on. I don't want any credit but I really, really wanted to be at this groundbreaking."

The 1,400-unit, 244-acre project, approved by the supervisors in October 1995, is being developed by East Garrison Partners, which includes Woodman Development, William Lyon Homes and Urban Community Partners. In addition to homes and apartments, the "new urbanist" community will also include a 57,000-square-foot arts district anchored by about two dozen renovated military buildings featuring studio space and an arts center, a town center with up to 75,000 square feet of commercial space, and a youth camp.

There are plans to build about 280 affordable homes, half of which will be designated for workforce housing. The affordable housing will be developed by the Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition, Artspace Projects and Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association nonprofits.

There are also plans for a fire station, an elementary school, a library, and a sheriff's substation, and eventually perhaps a community center, a sports center and a day-care center.

By late 2008, construction of the first homes, the town center and the fire station are scheduled to begin. About 420 homes are expected to be finished and ready for sale by 2009, with more to follow.

Construction of the arts district is set to begin in 2010 and be completed by 2012.

The entire development will be built in three phases and is scheduled to be completed by 2014.

In the planning stages since the early 1990s, the project is part of a larger transitional plan for Fort Ord from military ownership to public and private uses under the auspices of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority.

In January, the supervisors transferred about 635 acres to the East Garrison Partners development team, and also approved a loan package worth up to $75 million to pay for the site prep work.

The project's final map is slated to go before the supervisors for final approval on April 17, according to county planners.

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