Former Air Force Research Laboratory Mesa

The former Air Force Research Laboratory Mesa is located at the former Williams Air Force Base, Ariz. Since it opened in 1969, the lab provided for pilot training and served as a secure environment for research in warfare readiness. The level of security offered at the Mesa lab was matched by as few as four other labs in the nation.

AFRL Mesa was recommended for relocation to Wright-Patterson AFB by the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005. The Mesa facility was officially closed September 15, 2011. Today the former AFRL Mesa is one of 40 former installations managed by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Environmental Activities
AFCEC worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to agree on the uncontaminated property determination. There is no environmental cleanup cost anticipated.

Property Transfer
Today, the highly secure facility known as Arizona Laboratories for Security and Defense Research, or AZLabs, is managed via interim lease with the City of Mesa pending final transfer of the seven acre property through an Economic Development Conveyance. The science and technology research center is expected to bring high-paying technical jobs to the Mesa community as the City of Mesa continues to lease space to academic, defense and national security industry tenants. The property is expected to transfer in 2013.

Path Forward
The Air Force and its partners will continue to work together to complete documentation to support EDC transfer of the property.