Newport Chemical Depot

Matrix prepared a reuse plan which included extensive existing conditions assessment, alternative plan concepts, and a comprehensive public involvement process.

The Newport Chemical Depot is a 7,155-acre facility located in west-central Indiana in Vermillion County near the town of Newport. The Depot opened in 1941 as the Wabash River Ordnance Works and during World War II, the facility served a key role in the Manhattan Project with the production of heavy water; the abundant fresh water aquifer near the Depot being a primary reason for its location. Announced for closure in 2005 under the federal government’s Base Realignment Closure (BRAC) program, the Newport Chemical Depot Reuse Authority (NeCDRA) was created to oversee and facilitate the creation of a Reuse Plan for the Depot.

The NeCDRA selected Matrix Design Group to prepare the Reuse Plan, which included an extensive Existing Conditions Assessment, the development of several Alternative Plan Concepts, and a comprehensive public involvement program. In the end, a Reuse Plan was created and adopted that provides for over 3,000 acres of land for industrial development while maintaining thousands of acres of natural areas and prime farmland. Following the reuse plan, Matrix prepared a business plan, infrastructure master plan and a adetailed cost model in its role as the lead consultant in the Economic Development Conveyance (EDC) process, which resulted in a successful transfer of the site from the Army to the NeCRDA in September, 2011.