History of Fort Gillem

Named for Lt. General Alvan C Gillem, Jr., Fort Gillem opened in 1941 and was home to First U.S. Army, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation and a number of other federal agencies and organizations.

In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) Commission recommended and the Congress approved the closure of Fort Gillem. As part of the process, a portion (1,168 acres) of the total 1,427 acres was closed and surplused in 2011; the remaining 259 acres is being retained as the Army Enclave.

As part of the BRAC process, the Urban Redevelopment Agency of the City of Forest Park (“URA”) was created and is the entity that contracted with the U.S. Army for the transfer of the property.