John Blue Realty

The city and the base

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Huntsville Times

Annexing a Redstone Arsenal site increases ties with Huntsville

The city of Huntsville and Redstone Arsenal have a marriage of convenience - and that's not a bad thing. Thanks to the Army and the base's attendant defense contractors, this area's economy weathers hard times easier than most, and most times are good times for many, many people.

To carry the marriage metaphor further, the city and the base are in the process of renewing their vows of codependency (the good kind). Huntsville, with help from the Army, will probably soon annex 422 acres at Interstate 565 and Research Park Boulevard near Redstone's Gate 9.

That site will be developed over the next decade into a huge complex of offices and businesses and will also feature a hotel conference center.

To help the project along, Huntsville, as it has done in the past, will set up a special tax district to pay for roads, sewer and other work. A bill passed late in the last session of the Legislature allows Huntsville to increase the amount of money it can borrow for these kinds of projects.

And those who worry about whether this is fiscally sound need only look at the success Huntsville has had in similar projects during recent years. Repayment is at or ahead of schedule on all of them.

In addition, the city reaps the sales taxes from these investments as well as the higher property taxes that pay back the investments. And in this case, that's even more important because without the investments, the developers and the Army wouldn't have that incentive to be annexed. And if the giant complex wasn't in the city, and didn't have to pay city sales or property taxes, it would hold an unfair competitive advantage over similar commercial enterprises.

Huntsville has a history of working closely with the military, and it's paid off handsomely for the local economy.

A special city group helped build new housing for commanders at Redstone. That, in turn, probably helped influence the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission to move three major Army commands and other military work here. The influx inspired developers to plan the complex near Gate 9. That, eventually, will boost city coffers to help pay for more and better services. And so on.

The city is selling the base its water and, through the Solid Waste Authority, steam from the solid-waste incinerator. It's working with the Army on better relations between base security and local law enforcement. Redstone Arsenal, in other words, is as integral a part of Huntsville as Alabama A&M, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Big Spring International Park or anything else you think about when you think Huntsville.

And now, if events proceed as planned, within a few months a good chunk of Redstone Arsenal itself will be in the city.

That just codifies what's already evident to anyone who is watching - Huntsville and Redstone Arsenal are, for all practical purposes, inseparable.

By David Prather, for the editorial board. E-mail: david.prather@htimes.com