U.S. Sens. Dave McCormick (R-PA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced legislation that would help communities redevelop former military installations.
The legislation, the Increasing Opportunity for Reindustrialization Act, would expand the eligibility for Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) sites to be designated as Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) sites.
“Former military installations have the potential to become engines of economic growth, manufacturing, and job creation,” McCormick said. “This bipartisan legislation will give Pennsylvania communities the tools they need to attract private investment, support reindustrialization, and revitalize properties that have long served our national security interests.”
Since 1988, the U.S. Department of War has conducted five rounds of BRAC which has resulted in the closure or realignment of hundreds of military installations across the country. As communities work to transition these properties for civilian use, the installations often face economic challenges, including job losses, declining tax revenues, and infrastructure needs.
The bipartisan legislation would create a new pathway for former military installations closed under BRAC to be designated as QOZ, and would allow state to nominate areas for QOZ designation without counting them against the current caps on eligibility.
Expanding that eligibility would encourage long-term private investment, law makers said, and accelerate redevelopment effort in communities impacted by base closures.
The legislation is supported by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), as well as the Pennsylvania Military Community Enhancement Commission.
“As master developer of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, PIDC knows firsthand that when a base closes, thousands of jobs disappear overnight — and that rebuilding takes decades of sustained public investment before private capital can follow,” Jodie Harris, president of PIDC, said. “We have made significant progress in redeveloping the site, but the most challenging sections of the Navy Yard still require the kind of long-term commitment that conventional financing struggles to support. Opportunity Zones can help fill a unique gap: by drawing equity capital from investors who would not otherwise engage with complex projects like former military bases, and connecting that capital to job creation, housing, and community reinvestment that transforms these sites for the long term.”