Beaufort Co. group talks next steps after DHS picks Birmingham for new Coast Guard training facility

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - The U.S. Coast Guard will not be bringing a new training facility to Beaufort County — at least not for now.

Instead, the Department of Homeland Security stated they have selected the campus of Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, as the future home of the installation.

Local leaders in Beaufort County had hoped the soon-to-be-vacant Beaufort Naval Hospital campus — a 117-acre property that will be empty once the VA moves into its new building — would be chosen for the project. Officials say the Coast Guard facility was projected to bring a roughly $300 million economic impact and thousands of jobs to the Lowcountry.

“We heard via the announcement,” said John O’Toole, Executive Director of the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation.

The Birmingham-Southern campus, which has been closed for about two years, is expected to begin Coast Guard training operations later this year, according to federal officials and Alabama leaders.

“For Birmingham to get to own this and for Birmingham to get to embrace this branch, I think, is going to be a very special partnership,” U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said at the announcement.

O’Toole said he suspected DHS might lean toward Birmingham, but believes Beaufort’s bid made the decision more difficult.

“We think we did because of Beaufort and our reputation of being a community that takes care of the military operations here, and being that we were on the coast and we are talking about the Coast Guard,” O’Toole said. “We think Beaufort made a lot of sense.”

SEE: Town of Port Royal, county eyes new Coast Guard training facility

He said the process still delivered an important benefit: raising the profile of the Beaufort Naval Hospital site within the Pentagon.

“The benefit of this process allowed us to have the Department of Defense recognize an under-utilized asset,” O’Toole said, referring to the hardened installation on deep water.

With the Coast Guard project off the table for now, the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation is pursuing other possibilities for the property.

“We are going to use this as a launch for the continued discussion with the Department of Defense, the Navy, and perhaps other operations within the Coast Guard,” O’Toole said.

One idea now under consideration is converting the Beaufort Naval Hospital into a cybersecurity center. O’Toole said one of the county’s consultants believes the site’s existing infrastructure and location could make it a strong candidate for that type of mission.