Mayor Sheila Dixon unveiled Baltimore?s plan to attract families moving to the area as the result of the upcoming military Base Realignment and Closure process.
Joined by Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown at a news conference on Wednesday at City Hall, Dixon said Baltimore?s new “BRACtion” Plan will seek to improve public transportation and add more affordable housing to lure relocated military families to the city.
“The city of Baltimore is in a unique position to absorb the population moving to Maryland,” Dixon said.
State officials estimate that Baltimore will attract 2,552 new households and 2,100 new jobs by the year 2018 as the result of BRAC.
To prepare for the influx, the Dixon administration identified several potential transportation projects to ease commutes from Aberdeen Proving Ground ? where the bulk of relocated military personnel will be based ? including a new MARC train stop near Johns Hopkins Hospital in East Baltimore and MARC service between Baltimore?s Penn Station and Aberdeen.
Targeted development and detailed master plans for neighborhoods most likely to be affected by BRAC, including Westport, Middle Branch and Cherry Hill communities, also were included in the plan.
Promoting the city to military families would be the job of LIVE Baltimore, an agency tasked with attracting Washington residents to Baltimore.
Dixon called the plan ? a collaborative effort of city agencies, nonprofits and state officials ? a blueprint for opportunity.
“We?re connecting the dots,” she said.
Asked if the city?s rising homicide rate would deter families from relocating to Baltimore, Dixon said she was confident crime is under control.
“Baltimore is a safe city,” she said.
After the news conference, Brown toured Baltimore City with state officials. Brown said the state would work closely with the city to take advantage of the influx of military families.
“This is a true partnership,” he said.
BRAC BY THE NUMBERS
Fort Meade: The Odenton base could see about 22,000 new jobs as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure program.
Military jobs to Fort Meade:
» Defense Information Systems Agency: 4,379
» Adjudication activities: 951
» Media and publication activities (Department of Defense): 669
» Joint Network Systems: 2
Other jobs to Fort Meade:
» 3,049 indirect jobs: 3,049
» Contractors: 922
» Private developers on base property: 10,000
Aberdeen Proving Ground: The base could see about 25,121 new jobs as a result of BRAC.
New jobs at/around Aberdeen Proving Ground by 2012:
» On-base civilian, military and embedded contractors: 9,155
» Other military contractors: 7,586
» Related service sector/retail jobs: 4,379
Projected households to Maryland bases due to BRAC:
» Aberdeen Proving Ground: 14,159
» Fort Meade: 10,679
» Andrews Air Force Base: 474
Sources: Fort George G. Meade Web site; Anne Arundel County BRAC Office; Maryland Department of Planning; Towson University study for Department of Business and Economic Development
