Since the finalization of the 2005 BRAC List, people all across North Alabama and southern middle Tennessee have been anxiously awaiting the influx of people and jobs to Redstone Arsenal. Now, almost three years later, it seems as though the wait might be over.
It's always a nerve racking time for any community with tight DoD ties...the announcement of "another" round of base closures. I was born and raised in Huntsville and it seems that every time there is talk of base closure, everyone seems so certain that Redstone Arsenal will be on the BRAC list. Well the fact is that it HAS been on the BRAC list EVERY time, and yet somehow, it always manages to make the final cut AND gain size and stature. Such is the nature of the 2005 BRAC round.
BRAC, or Base Realignment and Closure, has been a good word around the Huntsville Decatur area for a couple of years now. As soon as the BRAC list came out and all indications were that Redstone Arsenal would be picking-up commands and personnel, investors went crazy snapping up houses to flip, hoping to cash in on the relocation housing market that everyone thought would be coming. To be sure, it is coming, just a bit more slowly than everyone hoped.
It is now almost three years after the release of the report and Huntsville Decatur is just now beginning to see a steady stream of direct DoD and contractor relocation jobs materializing. Along with those jobs comes the need for additional homes in Huntsville and surrounding areas. Infrastructure such as roads and highways are being beefed-up and Huntsville schools are preparing for an increase of students.
All things considered, BRAC is and will be for some time to come, a great benefit to the Huntsville Decatur and Redstone Arsenal Communities.
