0920_September Comstock's Magazine September 2020 | Page 80

McClellan Park
variety of industries. The booming
business park is seen as a model for the
public-private development of former
military bases into industrial parks that
contribute to the regional economy.
When it was announced in 1995
that McClellan Air Force Base was
going to be closed as part of the U.S.
government’s Base Realignment and
Closure program, various stakeholders
in the Sacramento community tried
to intervene to save it. Roger Niello,
former Sacramento County supervisor
and state assemblyman — who was
the president of the Sacramento Metro
Chamber of Commerce at the time the
closure was announced — says the
chamber lobbied Congress to let the
base stay open, but he says it ultimately
realized the decision to convert the site
into a business park would benefit the
community far more.
“As a military base, it could be a major
employer — but only during military
conflicts,” Niello says. “When there was
no conflict, employment at the base
would drop to maybe 5,000 — wildly
fluctuating employment is not good for
economic development. Converting Mc-
Clellan to a private-sector development
meant it would be a much more stable
employment factor, and given (the
site’s) capabilities, far more beneficial
to the economy over time than the military
base ever was.”
But before its economic engine
could be revved, the base had to be
privatized. The Air Force transferred the
management and development of the
base’s assets prior to official closure
into the hands of Sacramento County
and the McClellan Park development
group led by developer Larry Kelley. According
to Steven Mayer, the Air Force
Civil Engineer Center’s remediation
program manager and BRAC environmental
coordinator who helped oversee
the property’s transition, the developers
identified which buildings could be
quickly turned into leasable space with
a minimum of modifications to get cash
flow going. Then they looked at which
McClellan Park
Impact Facts
Nearly
20,000
employees
90
percent
occupied
80 comstocksmag.com | September 2020