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Development opportunity at Cold War site

New use: US Navy buildings at Tudor Hill

A former Cold War submarine tracking base is in line to get a new lease of life.

The Bermuda Land Development Company has asked for expressions of interest to redevelop the ex-US Navy site at Tudor Hill in Southampton.

Francis Mussenden, chief executive office at the BLDC said: “We’re looking for innovative and imaginative development approaches that align with our long-term strategy to revitalise Tudor Hill.”

The BLDC said the Exchange of Information was designed to “gather ideas and approaches” for development.

Once a preferred use or development idea has been selected, a request for proposal could be submitted.

Kim Smith, executive director for the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce said: “BEST supports sustainable development, recognising that preserving finite and precious virgin land in Bermuda is always a perfectly acceptable and valuable option.

“We will look forward to the BLDC keeping the public apprised of the process.”

Jonathan Starling, executive director of environmental charity Greenrock, added he hoped that any development allowed the Tudor Hill Marine Atmospheric Observatory to continue to operate on the site.

He said: “The observatory is one of the longest-running centres of atmospheric ocean chemistry in the world, providing world-class research.

“While the research in itself may not be profitable in the short-term sense, the research conducted there is invaluable to the advancing of human knowledge in the field of oceanic atmospheric studies.”

Mr Starling said a solar farm could be a useful addition to the site, along with a memorial to detail its long military history.

He added: “Tudor Hill was the site of fortifications throughout its history and the ruins of these forts remain.

“We could see a tourism attraction there along these lines, along with a solar farm and the continued use of the site for scientific research.”

The 25-acre site, next to the Pompano Beach Club, was once home to a US Navy detachment and part of the Sound Surveillance System, known as Sosus.

Sosus monitored a deep-sea network of listening posts to track the movement of Soviet submarines in the Atlantic.

Tudor Hill remained in service until the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s.

It closed in 1992 after 37 years of operation and the land was handed back to the Bermuda Government three years later.

Pompano Beach Club expressed interest in buying the land for expansion in 2013, but the plan was later dropped.

Anyone interested in the site should contact info@bldc.bm or visit the BLDC office at Triton House in St David’s to pick up a copy of the EOI guidelines, which detail the requirements and selection criteria.

All submissions must be received by 4pm on Thursday, February 8.