BRUNSWICK
One hundred more acres of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station now belong to the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority and the town of Topsham.
U.S. Navy officials signed quitclaim deeds for the most recent economic conveyance transfer Thursday at MRRA’s offices on the former base, now known as Brunswick Landing. The transfer included 88 acres spread out over the base, as well as 12 acres located in the Topsham Commerce Park annex known unofficially as the “Topsham triangle.”
With the latest transfer, MRRA now has received about 1,700 acres — more than half of the former base’s total area of 3,200 acres.
“We’ve reached the tipping point,” said executive director, Steve Levesque, “because MRRA now owns more property than the Navy does.”
The latest conveyance comes about three months after Topsham and Brunswick officials were warned that it might not happen for another year due to ongoing environmental site cleanups. In fact, one of the Navy’s conditions regarding the Topsham triangle is that two buildings — former vehicle repair shops — will have to be razed because they cannot be reconditioned or inhabited.
Land from the former base has been turned over to Brunswick, Topsham, and Bowdoin College through two kinds of conveyance, public benefit or economic development. Public benefit is just that — for the general good.
Economic development conveyance means MRRA can have the land, but will need to pay it off through an agreement with the Navy over the next 20 years.
“We have a purchase and sale agreement with the Navy,” Levesque said. “It’s a sliding scale. There’s a $3 million note that we’ll have to start paying off in 2013, plus the Navy gets a percentage of sales and leases for 20 years.”
MRRA gets to keep the first $7 million it generates in gross revenue. After that, the Navy’s cut is 25 percent.
Land surrounding Brunswick Executive Airport can be developed only to support the airfield, with revenue going to pay for its operations. Other space can be filled with whatever the market will support.
“From a philosophical perspective, the deal makes a lot of sense,” Levesque said. “Federal taxpayers paid for this facility, and if we’re able to generate a windfall from development, then giving some money back to the taxpayers is a laudable exercise.”
jtleonard@timesrecord.com
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