Camp Lejeune Growth Spurs Housing Starts, Retail Expansion
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North Carolina is one of the nation’s military strongholds. It’s not just a matter of patriotism – it’s big business.
The state is fourth-largest in terms of military presence‚ with mega-bases such as the Army’s Fort Bragg and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune contributing an estimated $18 billion to the state’s economy.
With Lejeune alone delivering a whopping $5 billion in direct and indirect spending‚ its growing status as a crown jewel of the armed forces is a major reason for Onslow County’s growth and prosperity.
Between $7 and $8 of every $10 spent in the county can be tied to the base‚ according to Bruce Gombar‚ Onslow County director of economic development. That number stands to rise with the relocation of several thousand troops staffing two new infantry battalions and a Marine Special Operations unit.
Located on 156‚000 acres‚ with amphibious training facilities‚ 11 miles of beach and 78 live-fire ranges‚ Lejeune also has an urban-terrain training area and 50 tactical landing zones. It’s hosted foreign troops‚ including the Royal Marines and Canadian‚ Dutch‚ French and German forces.
While less strategic military bases faced closure or downsizing by Department of Defense actions in 2005‚ Lejeune lost fewer than 200 jobs and is gaining many more by positioning itself as an efficient and innovative base that can accommodate growth.
“Yes‚ we will grow‚” base spokesman Lt. Clark Carpenter confirms‚ although he could not estimate how many troops would be coming to Lejeune.
Gombar guesses the final tally of new Marines and sailors would be about 5‚500‚ plus another 5‚000 or so family members. They will join about 43‚000 active personnel and their families‚ civilian employees and military retirees for a total population of close to 150‚000.
One immediate need is housing. Over the next five years‚ 2‚700 new homes will be built at Camp Lejeune. Approximately 1‚910 current homes at Lejeune and adjacent New River Air Station will be demolished‚ and 1‚117 new ones will be built. An additional 1‚397 subpar homes will be renovated.
By Congressional initiative‚ the upgrading of all on-base military family housing is being privatized‚ and the work at Lejeune will be done by Atlantic Marine Corps Communities‚ a 50-year partnership between Nashville‚ Tenn.-based Actus Lend Lease and the Department of the Navy.
AMCC will also manage the facilities when families move in. Most of the homes at Lejeune were built in the 1940s and 1950s and are in dire need of updating‚ AMCC spokeswoman Hilary Lumpkin says. New homes will have three bedrooms‚ front porches and screened-in back porches‚ and the renovated homes will have two-car garages and laundry rooms.
“We want a product that competes with what’s outside the gate‚” Lumpkin says. “Our competition is not what military housing used to be. It’s what’s being built now in the private sector.”
Some personnel will also choose to live off the base‚ and that’s partly respon sible for an upswing in housing starts throughout the county‚ Gombar says.
“The effect of these people coming to Camp Lejeune is going to have a significant impact on housing development‚” he says.
Gombar‚ himself a veteran‚ says today’s military personnel are more likely to venture off base after work.
“The salaries of the military have gotten closer to the civilian world‚” he says. “More now have automobiles and conduct a social life ‘off the reservation.’ A lot of the retail growth we’ve seen in Onslow County is attributed to their mobility and discretionary income. And more retail has attracted more people to move here.”
The simultaneous growth of Camp Lejeune and Onslow County is no accident‚ but the result of millions of dollars of investment by both the military‚ local and state officials.
In 2005‚ Lejeune received its fifth prestigious Commander-in-Chief’s Award for Installation Excellence for innovation and efficiency. As a military and economic force‚ it’s of strategic importance to both the nation and North Carolina.
“Camp Lejeune serves as a focal point of major joint and combined exercises for the East Coast‚” Lt. Carpenter says. “Camp Lejeune has longevity.”
Story by Jeannie A. Naujeck
Photo by Antony Boshier
