Navy Laboratories: Concerns Regarding the Naval Undersea Warfare Center's
Suffolk Facility (Letter Report, 06/22/94, GAO/NSIAD-94-143).

As part of the 1993 round of base closures, the Navy recommended closing
the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Norfolk, Virginia and moving it to
Newport, Rhode Island, to reduce excess capacity. Construction of the
Center's new facility in Suffolk, Virginia, had begun nearly a year
earlier and was nearing completion under a 20-year lease for a building
built to the Center's specifications. The justification for the building
was originally submitted in 1987, before base closure considerations and
reduced Navy budgets. It was based on the detachment's planned growth
and the desire to consolidate the detachment's existing leased spaces in
the Norfolk area. GAO concludes that the Navy should not have entered
into a long-term lease during a period of downsizing. If the Navy fails
to find other occupants for the building, it could be forced to spend
more than $24 million in lease costs over the course of the lease. In
addition, the Navy spent more than $9 million on one-time relocation
costs. Before signing the lease, the Navy had indications that the
proposed facility might not be needed. As a result, GAO believes that
options other than a long-term lease merited greater consideration. In
GAO's view, the decision to build the Suffolk facility was questionable.
GAO found no indication that other options were considered for acquiring
space for a smaller detachment. GAO summarized this report in testimony
before Congress; see: Navy Laboratories: Issues Concerning the Naval
Undersea Warfare Center's Suffolk Facility, by Donna M. Heivilin,
Director of Defense Management and NASA Issues, before the Senate
Committee on Governmental Affairs. GAO/T-NSIAD-94-211, June 22, 1994
(seven pages).

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  NSIAD-94-143
     TITLE:  Navy Laboratories: Concerns Regarding the Naval Undersea 
             Warfare Center's Suffolk Facility
      DATE:  06/22/94
   SUBJECT:  Naval facilities
             Federal facility relocation
             Federal agency reorganization
             Reductions in force
             Military cost control
             Defense economic analysis
             Future budget projections
             Real estate leases
             Laboratories
IDENTIFIER:  Norfolk (VA)
             Suffolk (VA)
             Newport (RI)
             
************************************************************************

We regret that the full text of this item is presently unavailable.

See the GAO FAQ - Section 2.0 for printed copy ordering information.
The FAQ is automatically retrieved with all WAIS search results or 
can be obtained by sending e-mail to: [email protected]