U.S. Gives Cal State $15 Million for Conversion of Ft. Ord Into Campus

Commerce Secretary Ron Brown gave a $15 million check to California State University on Friday to convert the Army’s Ft. Ord into the school system’s 21st campus. “This campus will represent the first, I repeat, the first post-Cold War conversion of a military base to a university,” Brown said at a news conference. The check will finance the conversion of 1,300 acres of the Monterey Bay area land and the renovation of 15 buildings, including soldiers’ barracks, into dormitories and classrooms, Brown said. The base, valued at up to $1 billion, has resources including a medical clinic and an 8,000-seat stadium. Brown also announced a $2.9-million grant to review the environmental impact of base closures on California’s coastal lands. Renovation of Ft. Ord is expected to start this summer. The base formally closes in October, but most of the 20,000 soldiers are gone.