Glenn master plan calls for
redevelopment of Fairview Park property
By Kevin Kelley
Westshore
WEB EXCLUSIVE
WEB UPDATED 5:15 PM FEB. 1, 2007

A new master plan drafted by Glenn Research Center employees would bring significant changes to the NASA campus, including the redevelopment of its property north of Brookpark Road into a public outreach area. The centerpiece of this section of the campus would be an Aerospace Education Center and a relocated visitor center. New buildings for space contractors would also be built in this location under the draft.

News of Glenn’s new master plan was published in the January issue of Aerospace Frontiers, the center’s employee newsletter.

NASA had announced in January 2006 that two buildings on the north side of Brookpark Road — the Developmental Engineering Building and its annex — would be closed.

While the two buildings occupy only five acres of Glenn’s campus, they house Fairview Park’s largest group of employees. The potential loss of income tax from the buildings’ more than 500 employees would put a serious drain on Fairview Park’s finances, city officials said. Three full-time employees and five part-time employees were laid off by the city in April 2006 in part because of the announced closings of the buildings.

However, Glenn officials have put off closing the buildings until 2008 or beyond, according to Jim Kennedy, director of development for the city of Fairview Park.

“It’s a positive thing that we didn’t expect,” Kennedy said.

But Kennedy reacted cautiously to the report on Glenn’s master plan.

“I think any excitement about that announcement is premature,” Kennedy told West Life. “It’s strictly in the concept stage at this point. It has to be reviewed through the hierarchy at NASA including NASA headquarters in Washington.”

Kennedy noted that plans to build an education center and relocate the visitor center have been “a pipe dream” at Glenn for a long time.

“There’s no certainty in any of the stuff,” Kennedy said of the draft master plan, although he added that he would like to see it come to pass.

The master plan draft, which still requires approval from NASA headquarters, will be implemented over 20 years.

Kennedy said city officials have been in constant discussions with Glenn officials about the Brookpark Road property for the past 13 months.

At least one private company expressed interest in relocating to the site, said Kennedy, who added the buildings are in an ideal location. “It’s not a hard place to market if it was privatized,” Kennedy said.

But Kennedy said NASA officials excluded the possibility of privatizing the government-owned land last summer.

Joseph Morris, Glenn’s chief architect, said in Aerospace Frontiers that the master plan draft is necessary as the center takes a more active role in NASA’s space exploration program.

“Our team has developed an exciting plan that is a vital management tool to direct our planning efforts and ensure that we have the facilities we’ll need for present and future missions,” Morris said in the article.

Morris called the property on which the Fairview Park buildings stand “a very visible and accessible area to the public.”

“So we can utilize this site for public outreach while leveraging the value of the land for our space exploration partners,” Morris said in the article.

According to the article, the master plan also calls for creating a campus center to function as a “downtown” Glenn. Along with new administration buildings, an auditorium, conference center and cafeteria would also be built. The plan also calls for upgrading test facilities at Glenn’s Plum Brook Station outside Sandusky.

Glenn officials could not be reached for further comment.

ON THE NET:

• NASA Glenn Research Center
• Glenn Master Plan article in Aerospace Frontiers newsletter