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Some of the oldest structures in the U.S. Army's inventory are gaining new life and uses under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) construction and renovation program on Fort Sam Houston.
Construction of the post began in 1876, and Fort Sam Houston has more historic structures than any active military installation in the United States.
"We have more historic buildings than Colonial Williamsburg," said David Brigham, cultural resources manager for Fort Sam Houston.
Today, several of these 800 buildings are part of a massive transformation of the post to accommodate the arrival of thousands of military personnel, federal employees, and new missions required by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round.
"These are not house museums where everything is completely original," Brigham said. "These buildings have to be brought up to code and have the features that we need so they can be utilized."
The restored historic structures will provide administrative space for about 3,000 military and civilian employees of a variety of realigned agencies and commands.
Installation Management Command will relocate with its command headquarters, west region headquarters, Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command and the U.S. Army Environmental Command. The Mission and Installation Contracting Command and the Network Enterprise Technology Command, including the 106th Signal Brigade, will also be housed in restored historical buildings. New facilities built through other BRAC projects will provide for an additional 9,000 individuals relocating to Fort Sam Houston.
These renovation projects include about two dozen structures, many of which are more than 75 years old and several that are more than a century old. As federal historic renovation efforts, the projects are proceeding within the parameters of the National Historic Preservation Act.
A special Army Alternate Procedures agreement is also in place that outlines more specific management practices to protect the visual character of the buildings. Under this agreement, project teams consult regularly with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Texas Historical Commission.
The alternate procedures streamline the approval process. Rather than consult with the historical commission for each project, Fort Sam Houston can proceed under a standard operating procedure agreed upon by the national and state regulators.
When Fort Sam Houston goes under Air Force operational control in October 2010, the Army Alternate Procedures won't apply. "What we believe is going to occur is the joint base is going to develop a programmatic agreement between the joint base, the Advisory Council and the Texas Historical Commission," Brigham said.
Consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act can take up to 30 days for each project. If the state historical program office requests a change, the 30-day period restarts.
"Renovation projects like these require extraordinary effort because intricate architectural features must be preserved to achieve an appearance that is true to the original designs," said David Thomas, director of the Joint Program Management Office, which is overseeing the San Antonio BRAC construction and renovation program. "Extra care and diligence are also necessary in carrying out the work because of the delicate state of some of these buildings."
The goal is to make a building with the same look and feel, but usable by modern workers, according to Brigham.
"We try to maintain the common areas such as lobbies and stairwells and keep the ceilings at the height they are to maintain the spatial nature of the building," he said, "but we tend to take some liberties with the other areas."
While taking away some Army-specific programs, the 2005 BRAC round benefitted the historic buildings program, Brigham added. "We are able to fund the rehabilitation of some of these buildings that we weren't able to do before. And there are probably very few substantial historic properties on Fort Sam that are not being rehabilitated or planned for reuse."
"All federal agencies have the responsibility to be good stewards of our historic properties and make efforts to maintain our cultural resources. Fort Sam has a long and storied heritage. We need to preserve it. The truth is that even though, in some cases, the rehabilitation of these buildings may be expensive, it's typically not more expensive than building a new building," Brigham said.
Note: Neal Snyder contributed to this article.
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