BRAC Construction Done at Fort Meade

Fort Meade has completed all construction related to base realignment and closure (BRAC) activities, officials from the Army installation said last week.

The base announced that it finished construction of the last two buildings related to the BRAC process, with employees already moving in this month.

The bulk of BRAC construction consisted of three main buildings for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the Defense Media Activity and co-location of the Defense and Military Adjudication Activities.

DISA held a ribbon cutting for its 1.1 million-square-foot headquarters in April, and the majority of its 4,300 workers are already based out of the new offices. The Defense Media and adjudication buildings were completed earlier this month, and workers are moving in at a rate of between 200 and 250 through the end of August.

About 5,700 new workers are expected to arrive at Fort Meade by the end of the year as a result of BRAC activities.

“Based on the 2005 BRAC announcements, [Fort Meade] personnel have worked thousands of hours in supporting congressionally mandated BRAC growth,” said Doug Burk, Deputy Garrison Commander for Transformation, in a press release. “With the final completion of our BRAC construction projects, Team Meade is excited about our new tenant partnerships and the opportunity to support new missions.” 

Defense Media’s headquarters consists of about 176,000 square feet. Construction began in April of 2009. The building houses the media organizations of all the main branches of the military.

The adjudication offices comprise 152,000 square feet, and house 10 agencies that determine security clearances for federal workers. Construction started in March of 2009 and was completed ahead of schedule.

Construction related to BRAC comprises only a portion of the work being done at Fort Meade in the next several years. The National Security Agency is expected to expand into thousands of square feet of new office space, and the U.S. Cyber Command will also require new construction.