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n seeking property for commercial, industrial and residential development, the 2005 round of base closures has now begun to offer up extraordinary opportunities for developers, corporate real estate, local communities and state governments. And due to the desirability of many of the urban and suburban properties, the "early bird gets the worm."
   Thanks to Congress' actions in November 2005 on the presidentially approved September 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Report, the federal government's decision in this latest round of base closures is now law, and hundreds of installations are affected. From that November moment, planning began in affected communities for redevelopment and reuse of closed, realigned and expanding U.S. military installations.
   Translated into private sector language, the BRAC 2005 round presents an extraordinary message – serious land opportunity

Redevelopment of the Naval Training Center in San Diego as "Liberty Station" has been marked by strong leadership from elected city officials. Photos courtesy Harry Kelso

– for the commercial, industrial and residential real estate, developer, construction and corporate communities.
   Further, the Department of Defense (DoD) has expressly stated its private sector-influenced policy that, in contrast to previous closure rounds, it wishes to move property as quickly as possible, using all available tools, including a military tool known as "enhanced use leasing."
   With the 2006 publication of DoD's BRAC rule establishing procedures for land transfers, savvy developers, corporate real estate officials and community leaders know the time is upon them now to act forthwith to prepare for "life after BRAC" – whether an installation is closed, remains open or downsizes, or expands its military and national security missions. Each of these outcomes requires serious planning, particularly to fulfill the desires of affected communities as well as to respond to the thinly-veiled, underlying assumption for DoD's rule: treating installation hosting-communities and their development partners as entities whose status approaches that of a "sophisticated buyer" (the concept in the securities industry for risk-taking investors).