Southport / NTC McCoy Annex – A Brief History

 From World War II until the 1990’s, the area now known as Southport was used for military purposes.  When the McCoy Air Force Base closed in 1971, its runways, hangars and control towers were conveyed to the City of Orlando and became Orlando International Airport.  But the 840 acre personnel support and housing areas located west of the runways was transferred to the Orlando Naval Training Center (NTC), and became the NTC McCoy Annex.  For the next two decades the McCoy Annex served as the primary housing, recreation and support area for personnel stationed at NTC Orlando.

 Base Closure and Reuse

The Federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) identified NTC Orlando for closure in July 1993.  Upon notice of the final decision of the BRAC, Mayor Glenda Hood appointed a Base Reuse Commission, made up of Central Florida business and government leaders, to guide the transition to other uses that support local economic goals and community development.

 The base closure and redevelopment planning process is a community based, proactive approach that established direction for redevelopment and reuse of the NTC facilities and properties.  The effort consists of four stages:  1) Base Reuse Plan;  2) Business and Development Plan;  3) Urban Design Vision Plan; and  4) Selection of a development team.

NTC McCoy Annex Base Reuse Plan 

The Base Reuse Plan is a document prepared by the local community and approved by the Navy to guide transition of base property and facilities to other uses that support local goals for economic and community development.  The approved Base Reuse Plan was used by the Navy as the basis for their environmental cleanup plans for McCoy Annex and other NTC properties.  For more info, see the NTC closure and resue section of  NTC Main Base - A Brief History.

The original McCoy Annex Reuse Plan Map was adopted by the City in December 1994.  It included reuse of most of the family housing units originally built by the Air Force (which have since become the Villages of Southport), and retained most of the existing recreational facilities on the site, including ball fields, tennis courts, and the golf course.

Another important feature of the plan was a 173-acre multimodal transportation facility to be located in the central portion of the property.  The multimodal facility was an industrial park proposed by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) that would have incorporated warehouse / distribution, shipping and receiving, freight forwarding and other facilities so that goods and services could be exchanged among truck, rail, and air transportation.  

Changing Conditions After The Reuse Plan

In the years following the adoption of the Base Reuse Plan, GOAA determined that the multimodal facility would not be viable at this site.  In March 2000, GOAA submitted a revised plan to the federal government, reducing its request for property to about 50 acres near Tradeport Drive.  In November 2000 the remaining 110 acres was transferred to the City for redevelopment. 

The City completed a Parks Master Plan for over 240 acres of park land at Southport in early 2000, and the first phase of this property transfer occurred in September of that same year.  Construction of the Southport Community Park was completed in the summer of 2002.  This park is part of the Mayor's  city-wide parks initiative, announced in June 1999.  

The Southport / McCoy Annex Vision Plan

During 2001-2002 the City worked closely with residents of the Villages of Southport and the consultant team of Glatting-Jackson to update the Base Reuse Plan for the McCoy Annex to take into account several of the unforeseen changes that had taken place since the 1994 adoption of the original plan.  The first draft of the updated plan, called the Southport / McCoy Annex Vision Plan, was completed in August 2001, and revised plan was ready by September 2002.

The City had expected to use the Southport Vision Plan as the basis for selecting a development team for the remaining 278 acres of City-owned property, but these efforts were delayed by several factors.  The most significant delays were caused by:  1) negotiations between the City and the Navy concerning clean-up of environmental contamination at the McCoy Annex; and  2) a desire by the City and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) to exchange several properties in the Southport area to facilitate redevelopment as proposed in the Southport Vision Plan.

By early 2006, the issues delaying progress on implementation of the Southport Vision Plan were finally resolved.  To take these latest changed conditions into account, the City prepared a Final Update of the Southport Vision Plan in June 2006.  In the coming months, the City will issue a Request For Proposals (RFP) for a development team to take on the 278 acres of City property.  We hope that this final phase of redevelopment will be as successful as the Villages of Southport project has been.