Unfinished Business Fort Ord’s legacy of blight

Unfinished Business: Fort Ord’s Legacy of Blight “Everywhere we look, there is work to be done,” President Barack Obama said in his 2009 inaugural address. One of those places is California State University, Monterey Bay. CSU Monterey Bay, located on the former Fort Ord Army base in Seaside, Calif., seeks approximately $22 million in federal funds to remove more than 167 vacant and decaying military buildings and other structures scattered throughout the campus. This investment will fix a problem that was not foreseen in 1994, when the United States closed Fort Ord and ceded 1,387 acres to the fledgling university for just $1. Those involved in the transfer thought Fort Ord could be a “turn-key” site. Unfortunately, it quickly proved impractical and exorbitant to rehabilitate most existing buildings for housing, teaching or administration. Those that were refurbished have been far from ideal. Likewise, demolition has been very slow because the task is so large and costly. Dozens of the structures are three-story, concrete dormitories. Many contain asbestos or lead, requiring careful and expensive abatement prior to deconstruction. These former Army barracks, sheds and shops are Fort Ord’s legacy of blight. They remain a danger to students, a magnet for scavengers and a discouraging eyesore that undermines efforts to attract and retain employees and students, welcome visitors and attract private support. A project to demolish them would create an estimated 150 new jobs. This additional employment would continue for at least two years, ranging from logistics and planning to demolition and transportation. The impact of payroll and equipment purchases would multiply across the region. And just as importantly, the work would remove a major obstacle to CSU Monterey Bay’s full development as a comprehensive university. Since its founding 16 years ago at the heart of the former base, the university has shown great promise toward fulfilling the highest ideals of military base conversion. It is the third youngest of the 23 campuses that comprise California State University, which has 450,000 total students and is the largest university system in the country. CSU Monterey Bay is proud of its roots as a vast training complex for 20th-century American soldiers. But now it has become a 21st-century center of excellence in higher education. Its diverse students enter the workforce with the competence and confidence that are essential to rebuilding the weakened economies of California and the nation. In his inaugural address, President Obama vowed to “transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.” This vital assistance to CSU Monterey Bay would clear away the rubble and make way for rebirth.

Structures awaiting demolition Photos on these pages show a few of the empty, deteriorating military structures that were left behind on the California State University, Monterey Bay campus after the former Fort Ord Army base closed in 1994.

An empty barracks building adjacent to the main campus.

A maintenance facility near Eighth Street.

Grafitti and other vandalism are widespread.

Students walk by empty barracks on their way to classes.

Overgrown trees block an entrance.

Deteriorating barracks near administration buildings.