Washington County commissioners have directed $1.25 million toward continued redevelopment of Fort Ritchie, the abandoned military installation on more than 600 acres beside a scenic mountain lake in the town of Cascade. The money is meant to push forward infrastructure upgrades that support ongoing retail and residential expansion at the former Army post, according to DC News Now.
The grant is earmarked specifically for road paving, replacement roofing systems and electrical infrastructure upgrades meant to support office spaces, retail shops, restaurants and food manufacturing facilities, as LocalNews1.org reports. Fort Ritchie contains roughly 50 historic stone and WPA-era buildings, some of which need repairs.
Per DC News Now, the development already includes condos and small shops converted from what were once empty barracks, along with a tavern, a casual dining cafe and a community center. Grant terms require a 20% financial match, and the report notes the fort's renovation project development arm will contribute that share itself.
Who Pays the Match
The same terms mandate that the 20% match come entirely from developer Cascade Town Centre Development LLC rather than Washington County taxpayers, and the arrangement comes with a required subrecipient agreement between the developer and the county, per the same account. Local developer John Krumpotich purchased the more than 500-acre former military post from Washington County in April 2021 for $1.85 million to spearhead the mixed-use revitalization, according to the same outlet's earlier reporting.
After its decommissioning in 1998 following the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure process, Fort Ritchie later became the focus of a redevelopment effort led by Krumpotich.
A History Tied to Wartime Intelligence
Fort Ritchie's roots run deep into World War II history. The installation was activated as an Army Military Intelligence Training Center in 1942, training nearly 20,000 troops during the war — including the so-called Ritchie Boys, many of whom were German-speaking Jewish refugees trained in tactical interrogation and psychological warfare, according to the U.S. Department of War.
The land tells an even older story. Long before its military use, the area surrounding Lake Royer was developed in 1889 by the Buena Vista Ice Company, which harvested natural ice and shipped it by rail to Baltimore and Washington, D.C., according to LocalNews1.org. That same lake now draws residents like Elisha, who told DC News Now the area is nice for morning exercise because it has little traffic. Another resident, Sean, said a planned golf course and other developments will make the area more exciting.
Museum and Medical Clinic Round Out the Site
The Ritchie History Museum opened on site in 2023 inside a former Brigade Officers Mess Hall, featuring interactive exhibits including a replica World War II interrogation tent and digitized military archives, according to Islands. Meritus occupies Building 607, constructed in 1989, per the Ritchie History Museum.
The Fort Ritchie grant was one piece of a larger September 15 agenda for Washington County commissioners, which also included evaluating $1.13 million in Forty West Landfill upgrades and $183,000 for Next Generation 911 emergency communications upgrades, according to LocalNews1.org.
