comey shelby

FBI Director James Comey, left, and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, right, speak to reporters at the TEDAC opening last year at Redstone Arsenal. (Paul Gattis/pgattis@al.com)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is considering bringing hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs to Redstone Arsenal in what could possibly be a landmark economic development for Huntsville.

The plan exists on paper, AL.com has learned, but it's not clear how close it is to becoming a reality or if the plan, conceived during the Obama administration, will change under President Trump. But some construction is already under way on Redstone.

During a presentation in November to community and business leaders at the annual "Redstone Update," the FBI said its plans for growth include a footprint of about 1,800 acres at the Army base. The Huntsville base already supports more than 40,000 jobs.

The proposed growth is expected to be in addition to FBI activities already located at Redstone Arsenal: The Hazardous Devices School and the Terrorist Explosive Devices Analytical Center.

The new headquarters for TEDAC -- Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center at Redstone Arsenal. (Paul Gattis/pgattis@al.com)

The FBI declined to comment on its potential growth at Redstone Arsenal when contacted by AL.com.

"We have no information to add not publicly available," the FBI said in a statement.

FBI Director James Comey, in a visit to Redstone last year to formally open TEDAC, described Huntsville as a possible new "center of gravity" for the bureau.

Since then, TEDAC has undergone a $28 million expansion, which includes the construction of three new buildings. A 28,500 square foot collaboration center, a 28,000 square foot repository and a 700 square foot visitor screening facility are scheduled to be completed in early 2017, according to Turner Construction of Huntsville, which led the project.

And a $27.5 million expansion of the FBI's Hazardous Devices School is under construction on the south end of the arsenal.

Even as details for future plans remain uncertain and - perhaps most importantly - unfunded at this point, there are signs of a growing presence.

U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, said he has heard many different estimates on potential jobs that could be associated with the FBI's growth in his hometown.

"I hear a lot of different numbers but those numbers are hopeful projections and I'm hesitant to quote any of them because none of them are birds in the hand yet," Brooks said. "Worst-case scenario with respect to the FBI, cybersecurity and counterterrorism, is we'll have slow growth. Best-case scenario, we will have exceptional growth to where we may become, in those three fields, a significant center akin to what we do with space exploration and national security."

Mike Ward, senior vice president, government and public affairs, at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, described the FBI expansion plans outlined at the November update as "notional." The chamber of commerce organized the Redstone Update.

"I think the master plan that the FBI discussed at the Redstone Update is still notional and it remains so until the plan is funded," Ward said in a statement to AL.com. "Some parts of the plan have been funded and are being executed. We're hopeful that we will be able to advance this plan to make it a reality."

That is also the effort of U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, who has worked for years to secure funding for the FBI at Redstone Arsenal. He promised during Comey's visit last year to continue that work.

At the TEDAC opening last year, TEDAC Director Gregory Carl said Shelby has helped secure more than $130 million since 2008 for TEDAC and other "FBI equities" at Redstone.

"I have long been an ardent supporter of the FBI and its assets, such as the Hazardous Device School and the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center at Redstone Arsenal, that play a critical role in safeguarding our nation," Shelby said in a statement to AL.com. "As the FBI continues to map out its plans for the future, I welcome efforts to expand its presence in north Alabama.

"Through my ongoing work as the Chairman of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the FBI, I will continue to lead the fight to ensure that the Bureau has the appropriate support from Congress to achieve its goals."

The FBI's Hazardous Devices School at Redstone Arsenal. (AL.com file photo)

Brooks said there is the potential for FBI growth at Redstone Arsenal to mirror the massive expansion that NASA experienced at Marshall Space Flight Center - another arsenal agency -- during the 1960s moon race.

"In the 1960s and again in the 1980s, NASA growth was a big part of Redstone Arsenal," Brooks said. "Off and on since the 1950s, national security growth on the arsenal has been exceptional. Going forward, I anticipate significant growth on the arsenal with respect to the FBI generally and cybersecurity and counterterrorism specifically."

The FBI already has a large presence in Huntsville.

TEDAC relocated from Quantico, Va., to Redstone Arsenal last year. The center brings together more than two dozen U.S. intelligence agencies into a single organization to collect, catalog, analyze, exploit and store terrorist improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The Hazardous Devices School brings personnel from across the country to Redstone for training. All public safety bomb technicians receive training at the school. The school certifies about 200 new bomb technicians each year.

The FBI announced last year that after a 45-year partnership with the Army, it was accepting primary responsibility for the Hazardous Devices School.

What might be next for the FBI at Redstone Arsenal remains unclear. The FBI continues in a decade-long search for a site to build a new headquarters - a project also dogged by funding issues.

During his visit to Redstone last year, Comey hinted that some headquarters personnel could be relocated to Huntsville.

"We see this as an opportunity to expand the FBI's headquarters components, maybe move a lot of those folks here, too," Comey said. "They don't need to be sitting in Washington to be effective. A whole lot of our support organizations need good office space, great community support and this is that kind of space.

"What we see (at Redstone) is an opportunity to have a center of gravity for the FBI. The new headquarters building that we're building outside of Washington will not be big enough for the entire FBI. We're going to have to move some of our support to some good place in the United States. As we were discussing with (Sen. Shelby), this may be a perfect location for that kind of thing."

Standing next to Comey, Shelby immediately added, "We're going to work toward that end. That's our vision down the road."

Whatever that FBI growth at Redstone eventually looks like, it will be good for the region, Brooks said.

"No one knows for sure what the funding priorities are going to be," said Brooks, pointing to the new administration. "And it changes on an annual basis. All I can say for sure is, every signal I'm getting is that the Tennessee Valley's future is going to be very bright in the fields of FBI, cybersecurity and counterterrorism.

"Will it be as bright as NASA in the 1960s or the significant military build-ups we have in the 1960s and the 1980s or 90s? Nobody knows. But it will be good, absent some kind of federal budgetary calamity that would affect all of us."