BRAC success in the desert

  • Published
  • By Scott Johnston
  • Installations Center of Excellence, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Public Affairs
MESA, Ariz. --  In the nearly two decades since a local committee drafted a plan to redevelop the former Williams Air Force Base, the site has transformed into three new and successful identities.

The Local Reuse Authority, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, has turned the closed base into a thriving international aviation and aerospace center and educational complex.

Gateway Airport, along with two rapidly growing college campuses, provides an anchor for a variety of other businesses and agencies. Together these bring more than 4,100 jobs to the former base.

Gateway Airport has transformed from a closed military base to a Department of Defense model for base cleanup and redevelopment. Since the closure in 1993, the Air Force has spent approximately $94 million to make sure the property is environmentally safe and suitable for transfer. This effort has played a major role in the successful transformation of the former base.

"Our relationship with the Air Force has always been quite positive," said Lynn Kusy, executive director at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. "The cleanup program is going very smooth and it has never really hindered the redevelopment of the airport. It has been a great success."

Gateway Airport is currently home to 53 companies and 1,311 jobs, and serves 38 cities with non-stop service via Frontier, Allegiant and Spirit Airlines. The airport contributes $685 million annually to the Arizona economy and is currently developing an international aerospace center with aircraft maintenance, modification, testing and pilot training.

Arizona State University at the Polytechnic Campus is one of four campuses of ASU. Originally named ASU East, the campus opened in 1996 on the former base. As of the 2011 semester, more than 10,500 students were enrolled in 40 degree programs based on the campus, which currently employs nearly 600 people.

ASU shares approximately 600 acres with Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Mesa Community College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Arizona Laboratories for Security and Defense Research, a Veteran's Administration Clinic and the Silvestre Herrera Army Reserve Center. These entities make up what is known as the Williams Campus.

Chandler-Gilbert Community College offers programs in aviation and electronics, nursing, science, and social and behavioral sciences. The Mesa campus opened in 1995 and approximately 4,100 students now attend classes there.

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center is responsible for remediation and closure at 40 former Air Force installations across the United States under the Base Realignment and Closure program. Since the first BRAC in 1988, the Air Force has transferred more than 116 square miles of land (an area twice the size of Washington, D.C.) to local communities for public use. Throughout the transfer process, the Air Force remains committed to protecting human health and the environment.