University Of Missouri Technology Park At Fort Leonard Wood

New Opportunities At Active Facilities

Fort Leonard Wood, in rural Missouri, has had missions and training schools added since the BRAC program began in the 1990s. This led to the creation of the University of Missouri’s Technology Park, a partnership between the University of Missouri and the state’s economic development office. The first building is an 18,000 square foot office building with shared office space for Army contractors.

The military installations that have been closed have received most of the attention from developers, however, the closings have created development opportunities at existing installations.

In rural Missouri, Fort Leonard Wood is considering a BRAC-proof installation and has seen growth in its missions since BRAC was implemented.

“The Army is outsourcing as many administrative functions as it can,” says Rick Finholt, executive director of the office of economic and development and research parks with the university of Missouri systems. “Every post has a large number of contractors and consultants and a lot of companies have one or two people assigned to the post.”

In response to this need, the University of Missouri and the Missouri Technology Corp., a subsidiary of the state’s Department of Economic Development, have created the University of Missouri Technology Park at Fort Leonard Wood.

The park has a 33-year special purpose ground lease with the Army post with an option for another 33 years. The building is operated as executive offices and a shared business center for companies that contract with the military at the post.

“The Army has plenty of ground and a lot of new missions, but not the wherewithal to build new buildings,” says Finholt. “It’s a part of the BRAC process that hasn’t gotten as much attention as it deserves. It’s part of what’s going to be going on in the future.”

With a new round of base realignments and closures coming in 2005, the need for privately developed buildings on military installations should increase as the military continues to consolidate its activities.