Blackwater Finds New Home In South Bay

NBCSan Diego (2008-04-22)

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POSTED: 4:00 pm PDT April 22, 2008 UPDATED: 4:58 pm PDT April 22, 2008

SAN DIEGO -- Military security contractor Blackwater Worldwide is not giving up on a training facility in San Diego County, according to company officials.

The company is planning to open an indoor facility in Otay Mesa. It would be housed in a 61,600-square-foot building on Siempre Viva Road, just south of Brown Field. The news comes one month after Blackwater abandoned a controversial proposal to build a training center in the far East County.

On March 7, company project manager Brian Bonfiglio said in a letter that the site in Potrero no longer met Blackwater's business needs.

Voters in Potrero recalled all five members of a planning board who approved a plan to build a security training camp. Bonfiglio said that active local opposition to the project didn't play a role in its cancellation.

The company had come under congressional scrutiny after the shootings of 17 civilians in Baghdad by contract guards in September. FBI investigators and Justice Department attorneys were in Iraq at the end of February to re-examine evidence from the Sept. 16 shooting and determine whether charges might be brought in U.S. courts.

According to the Union Tribune, Kelly Broughton, director of the city of San Diego's development services department, said Blackwater applied for a permit in February to make improvements to the building. The permit was approved March 19.

Previous Stories:

• March 7, 2008: Blackwater Ends Bid For East County Training Site
• December 12, 2007: Planning Board Ousted Over Blackwater Vote
• September 28, 2007: 8 Candidates File To Replace Recalled Blackwater Supporters
• September 17, 2007: Blackwater Security Firm Embroiled In New Controversy
• August 10, 2007: Blackwater Report
• August 1, 2007: Blackwater Backlash Prompts Recall Election