Fort Monroe's disputed land may cost Virginia taxpayers $23.1 million

The U.S. Army and Commonwealth of Virginia may use millions of state taxpayers dollars to settle a years-long property dispute at Fort Monroe.

The Army wants Virginians to pay $23.1 million for two parcels bordering Mill Creek's southern shore and along the post's marina.

As payment, the state would spend that amount on infrastructure projects close to Army facilities which will improve both the posts and the surrounding community, according to a "deal points" document made available by the Fort Monroe Authority.

The Army determines which projects are top priorities. The state then has seven years to complete the work after the land transfers.

"Everything is now moving forward again," Fort Monroe Authority Executive Director Glenn Oder said. "I could imagine the property transferring within the next six months to a year, understanding there will be some environmental carve-outs."

In 2013, the Army transferred 313 of Fort Monroe's 565 acres to the state because of a reverter clause the military signed in the 19th century saying it would do so if the property was no longer used for coastal defenses.

But the agreement's colloquial wording and debate over improvements the Army made to the property have protracted the debate over the transfer.

The Army is demanding the state pay for 83.1 acres built up after the 1830s when the reversion clause was signed including the marina and land Army engineers created along Mill Creek near present day Stilwell Drive.

Sitting on those properties are at least a dozen buildings and 352 boat slips the Army continues to use as a source of revenue.

The Fort Monroe Authority board of directors has made a "deal points" memo — signed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Paul Kramer, Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs John Harvey Jr. and Oder — publicly available.

The non-binding memo outlines demands by the state and Army that now need to be placed into a more detailed economic conveyance agreement.

Oder said a land survey has been completed on the park service and submitted to the Virginia Attorney General's office. The land transfer process is "percolating along," he said.

Until a deal if finalized, the Army still owns those disputed parcels and acts as their caretaker.

The transaction does not include any contaminated areas — known as environmental carve outs — the Army must clean up before it can transfer property to the state or National Park Service.

The Army now controls seven areas totaling 240 acres where environmental hazards must be addressed before the land can transfer. Two of the most recognizable areas include the potentially contaminated sediment in the moat and Dog Beach, which was used as an Army landfill. Addressing each contaminated area could take years to complete, Army officials performing the process have said.

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