Face of Fayetteville Changing

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Joseph Adamchzyk works for MPRI, a defense services company from Virginia that recently opened an office in downtown Fayetteville.

His company is one of many companies seeing the benefits the military city has to offer.

"Every place I went, they made it easy for us to get our basic operations established," Adamchzyk said.

With the U.S. Armed Forces Command moving to Fort Bragg as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure, Fayetteville is ideal for military contractors.

The Armed Forces Command relocation also means nearly 25,000 people will move to the area around Fort Bragg, making it the largest Army base in the nation by 2011.

And city planners are on a mission to attract them.

"Armed Forces Command controls $30 billion annually out of the United State's defense budget," BRAC task force regional planner Donald Belk. "That move of FORSCOM will transform our regional economy."

An entire business park is planned near the post to house only defense contractors. And the BRAC Regional Task Force recently approved a new marketing strategy to bring those companies to the area.

In fact, task force members are already courting more than 500 companies that currently work with FORSCOM, to see if Fayetteville can meet their needs.

"Most military companies we've talked with are good-paying employers who offer high-quality jobs," said Phyllis Owens with the Cumberland County Business Council.