Annexation Paves Way For Army National Guard Facility By MALENA OGLES, Staff Writer   |   Apr 23, 2009

Tyler is on its way to becoming the site of a new Army National Guard facility following Wednesday's unanimous approval by city council members to annex 49 acres of land in west Tyler.

The voluntarily annexed land is located along both the east and west sides of Spur 164, excluding a 45.5 acre tract of land on the north side of Texas Highway 31 West.

"This has really been a tremendous effort by the city and several members in the community," City of Tyler Planning and Zoning Director, Barbara Holly said of the annexation efforts.

The city learned in 2008 that Tyler was being considered as a site for a 123,000 square foot facility to accommodate up to 800 military and civilian personnel during assigned training times.

Studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers showed that Federal Base Realignment and Closure Act requires all new facilities to be within the geographical boundaries of a city.

To make it work, city officials had to find a reasonable route to annex that area, Holly said.

"We came from the area of Bellwood Lake and worked with the property owners and asked them to voluntary annex a 5 foot-strip," Holly said adding that only five property owners were impacted and everyone agreed to the annexation.

Construction of the facility is expected to cost between $25 and $30 million and will take about two years to complete. In addition to constructing the building, parking areas, vehicle and equipment maintenance areas, storm water detention ponds and storage facilities will also be constructed.

The annexation will be done sequentially, starting with Union Pacific Railroad.

"This will be a big boom for not only the city of Tyler but the entire area," Ms. Holly said. "We think not only is it good economically, but it's good for the country and good for our military,".

Holly said that the facility will not feed or house personnel in training which allows for out of town visitors to use restaurants and hotels in the area.

"We are immensely pleased that the National Guard Facility has chosen to locate in Tyler; they will make a great neighbor and have a positive impact on our community and local economy," Mayor Barbara Bass said in a media release.