Federal Arsenal Will Put Four Buildings on the Market

ROCKAWAY TWP., NJ-With each round of military base closings, the name Picatinny Arsenal always surfaces as a possible target for shutdown. Picatinny, one of the military’s largest ordnance development centers and the one where many of the most advanced weapons systems were developed, has managed to survive, however.

Now, as a possible hint of what the government may do with at least part of its sprawling network of military facilities, four buildings totaling 77,000 sf will be made available for private-sector use. That’s small in terms of the total Picatinny package–1,000 buildings covering more than 6,500 acres of prime northern New Jersey land–but observers feel there is a kernel of evidence here about what the US government might do in terms of disposing of more of its far-flung real estate holdings.

As far as the buildings that are being made available are concerned, the government is looking for everything from lab uses, to light manufacturing, administrative offices and educational/training facilities, according to David Banashefski, who runs the arsenal’s public-private partnership office. He reports that the facility’s commander, Brigadier General William Lenaers, signed the suitability-to-lease papers last week, effectively putting the four buildings on the market.