Ceremony marks BNAS decommissioning
After 68 years as a military installation, the Brunswick Naval Air Station has been decommissioned.
The Navy held a ceremony yesterday to mark the formal closing of the base and the official beginning of its redevelopment for civilian use, according to the Portland Press Herald. About 1,000 people attended the closing ceremony, which included remarks by Gov. Paul LePage, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jackalyne Pfannestiel and base commanding officer Capt. William Fitzgerald. Fewer than a dozen Navy personnel remain on the 3,500-acre property, and will soon depart as civilians handle the final property transfers to the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority.
The base first opened in 1943, and was deactivated for five years before being reopened in 1951. It will now be known as Brunswick Landing, and already 30% of the property has been transferred to MRRA or is under a lease or license, according to The Associated Press. At least nine tenants have opened or are slated to open at Brunswick Landing, including Kestrel Aircraft, Bowdoin College, Southern Maine Community College, Molnlycke Health Care and American Bureau of Shipping. Earlier this month, three more businesses and organizations expressed interest in leasing property there.
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