Though private developers are preparing redevelopment proposals for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s former prison in Kittery, the Air Force is discussing using the facility as a cyber command center.
The Navy over the next two months will be accepting redevelopment proposals for the prison, which closed in 1974, and hopes to sign a contract with a private developer by the spring of 2009. However, U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) is urging the Air Force to adopt the building as its cyber command center, which would target cyber-based hackers or spies, the Associated Press said. The government use would trump private development, and Shea-Porter told the AP the cyber command center would be a significant boost to the region’s economy.
Air Force officials discussed the possibility with staffers at Shea-Porter’s office last Friday. The Air Force is considering a number of sites for the center, which it wants to open by October, the AP said.
