Ceremony Marks End of Era at Brunwick Naval Air Station
A couple weeks ago, Wing 5 held its “Checking Off” Ceremony at Brunswick Naval Air Station (BNAS). Part of the Base Re-Alignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission decision, it was announced in 2005 that Brunswick Naval Air Station would be closed - - the P-3 Orion Squadrons would no longer make their low approaches over Route 1 - - ending 35 years of being housed at BNAS with their relocation to Jacksonville, FL
Two Patrol Squadrons left earlier this year, leaving only 3 planes on base as of the Checking Off Ceremony. The last P-3 squadron will take off for the final time in early December. So, there was a week of events with a farewell theme in addition to the formal ceremony. At that ceremony, with a crowd of about 550 which included sailors, their family members, friends and community supporters, Capt. James Hoke, the Commander of Wing 5, made one last radio call, “Admiral: Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 5, checking off-station. Out.” Traditional words of farewell to Brunswick, Maine. Wing 5 will actually be disestablished at the end of March, 2010 when no one will be left to hold a ceremony.
The base closure announcement came in 2005, when more than 4,000 military personnel were stationed at BNAS. The turning over of the base to the civilian redevelopment group, the Mid-Coast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), is slated for 2011. Currently, only about 650 military personnel remain at the base; when the last squadron takes off in December, that number will drop to under 400. During the process, civilian planners have been working to redevelop the property for industrial, residential, commercial and conservation uses.
Brunswick and the other communities around the base will miss the departing sailors and their families – they are our neighbors and friends, schoolmates and playmates to our children, active members of the communities, volunteers for our local causes and non-profits. Their service, dedication, and involvement in our communities have been appreciated and will be greatly missed.
So, we continue our period of transition with the base closure. There are many challenges that must be met. We’ve already seen the closure of numerous small businesses and the vacant base housing has created its own issues. Base housing is its own odd creature in that it is managed by a private company but the land below the housing is owned by the government. This makes individual sale of housing units unlikely. Rather, entire neighborhoods have been “packaged” for sale and interested bidders, including the local redevelopment authority, have come forward. As you can imagine, rumors abound.
In addition to base housing, many military personnel owned homes in Brunswick and its surrounding communities. These homes have been and continue to come on the market. This has created a wealth of opportunities for first-time homebuyers in Mid-Coast Maine - - so much to choose from. The Sellers (assuming they purchased prior to the base closure announcement) are helped by the Army Corps of Engineers’ Homeowners' Assistance Program (HAP) which makes up the difference on a short sale or purchases the home from the Seller if a buyer cannot be found in the open market prior to the sellers re-assignment. This has been a boon for buyers – Tax Credit plus lots of inventory has gotten first time buyers plenty excited. Sellers, however, are a different story. When they say "All real estate is local," this is a perfect example. You can just imagine what the base closure has done for our area, piled on top of an already weak economic picture.
As this community moves forward, there is no doubt that Mid-Coast Maine will miss the presence of the base, but there is also no doubt that a strong, vibrant, even better Brunswick is in the works for the future.
If living in the Southern Mid-Coast Area of Maine is something you'd like to know more about, CONTACT ME today! So many opportunities await!
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