ST. LOUIS • With the new director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in town to help recruit the agency’s future workforce, the campus where the intelligence analysts of tomorrow could be working came a little closer into focus.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City office released designs of the $1.7 billion NGA campus north of downtown, offering the public a first glimpse of a project that area leaders hope will transform a swath of north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ hollowed out by decades of disinvestment.
Concept design of the Next NGA West main entry. (Rendering courtesy of McCarthy-HITT and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
For five years, the biggest federal project in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ history has been mostly a concept to the public, a plan that seemed in peril more than once. But with the city’s December transfer of a cleared 97 acres at the northeast corner of Jefferson and Cass avenues to the federal government, the agency’s new western campus is moving closer to reality.
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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ University President Fred Pestello (left) and NGA Director, Vice Admiral Robert Sharp take part in a moderated discussion at the start of Geo-Resolution 2019 conference at ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ University on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The conference was sponsored by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ University and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency with the goal of bringing together the government, academic and industry in the "geospatial ecosystem" in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ region. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
“We’re very excited about our new campus construction,†Vice Admiral Robert Sharp, who took over as NGA director in February, said Tuesday during a geospatial conference at ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ University. “We see it as a game changer not only for our agency but for the (geo-intelligence) community, the intelligence community. It’s really going to evolve the way we as an agency interact with academia and industry.â€
Last month, the corps awarded the $712 million construction project to a joint venture led by Rock Hill-based McCarthy Building Cos. and Washington-based HITT Contracting.
The McCarthy-HITT team also includes Herndon, Va.-based Akima, which provides construction services; San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler; and Kansas City-based engineering firm Black & Veatch. (Outfitting the buildings and other expenses bring the total project cost to $1.7 billion.)
Major construction work is expected to begin early next year, peaking in 2022 with as many as 1,300 construction workers at the site. Officials hope to have the campus ready for the NGA by 2025.
“As the largest federal investment project in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ history, it is expected to have a tremendous regional impact in terms of expanding jobs, promoting economic development and strengthening our local community,†Jeffery Boyer, vice president of operations for McCarthy and the project executive for the McCarthy-HITT team, said in a statement.
NGA Director, Vice Admiral Robert Sharp takes part in a moderated discussion at the start of Geo-Resolution 2019 conference at ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ University on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The conference was sponsored by ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ University and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency with the goal of bringing together the government, academic and industry in the "geospatial ecosystem" in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ region. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
For Sharp, who most recently served as commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence, Tuesday’s appearance at SLU was one of his first public events in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ since succeeding Robert Cardillo as the head of the NGA.
Cardillo had become a relatively well-known name in town as his agency worked with local officials on plans to replace the agency’s existing facility on the south riverfront, where about 3,100 people work.
Like his predecessor, Sharp talked about the need for the formerly low-profile intelligence agency to develop more relationships with universities, schools, businesses and other institutions in order to recruit future workers and develop new ways to analyze and collect data. The agency’s ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ campus, for instance, is expected to have non-classified areas so contractors and others can better interact with the agency.
“We’re really in a competition for our nation’s best minds,†Sharp told reporters. “And we’re convinced that a lot of those best minds are right here in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and if we can expose them to the art and science of what the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency does, the mission we perform, we think a lot of individuals from this city, from this region will pursue employment in our agency.â€
Already, the NGA has signed a formal collaborative research and development agreement with SLU, which has identified geospatial research as a top focus and strength among its faculty. Known as GeoSLU, the initiative “gives us an opportunity to play to a strength, and a growing strength in the region,†SLU President Fred Pestello said. He said the university is also developing curriculum and programs focused on geospatial-focused careers.
The NGA is pursuing similar collaboration agreements with Washington University and the University of Missouri, Sharp said.
Sharp and Pestello addressed about 500 attendees at a Tuesday conference that invited students to learn the latest in geospatial analysis techniques and network with agency professionals.
The NGA is “undergoing a transformation that is going to continue to accelerate the growth and dynamism of our region,†Pestello said.
