Fort Ord Reuse Authority Executive Officer Michael Houlemard, Jr., has been recognized as the recipient of ADC’s 2019 John Lynch Base Redevelopment Leadership Award. As FORA’s chief manager, Houlemard has led the redevelopment of one of the largest and complex BRAC projects in the country.
In Sept. 1994, Ford Ord, Calif., an installation that spanned 28,000 acres across three counties, was one of the largest military bases ever to be shut down. Today, the former base near Monterey, Calif., is home to a university, residential developments, a shopping district and a medical facility that serves both veterans and active-duty service members. Houlemard’s dedication to Fort Ord’s redevelopment over the years has been key in creating spaces and opportunities that will benefit the surrounding communities for years to come.
Houlemard became Fort Ord’s chief executive in 1997, taking on the responsibility of planning, implementing and financing the redevelopment of the former Army base. Under his leadership, FORA has focused on complex and multi-faceted projects that have benefited the entire Monterey area.
Houlemard’s work at Fort Ord has received many awards, including Public Official of the Year from the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce in 2012. Fort Ord Reuse Authority also received the 2018 Office of Secretary of Defense Award for exemplary work in base redevelopment, and has been recognized by the American Planning Association and the Special District Resource Management Authority.
“The complicated management structure required a really skillful, multi-talented leader. We found that in Michael Houlemard,” said former U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), co-author of legislation establishing a reuse authority following Fort Ord’s closure in 1994. “The Fort Ord community of today is his legacy, and the community is grateful to him for his vision.”
ADC’s Base Redevelopment Leadership award is named after John Lynch, a long-time employee of DOD’s Office of Economic Adjustment, who assisted communities and contractors dealing with base closures and defense downsizing. His contributions as a volunteer also helped turn ADC into the independent organization it is today.