Clean water to drink and wash with; reliable electricity to light our homes, businesses and roads; efficient sewer systems to manage our human waste; good roads to drive on; and effective drainage systems to manage stormwater are all critical to our everyday survival. We often take these essential infrastructure systems for granted in our modern society.

While the Brunswick Naval Air Station redevelopment effort continues at a robust rate, it is important to remind folks that this growth must be supported by adequate utility and infrastructure systems. While not glamorous or sexy by any stretch, the modernizing, upgrading and upkeep of these systems is necessary to maintain the pace and success of the overall effort.

In addition to the significant airport assets the Navy left behind (two 8,000 foot runways, several very large hangars and support buildings and nearly 200 acres of tarmac), the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA), the master developer of the former base, inherited a significant bundle of utility and infrastructure systems from the Navy, including: 27 miles of roadways, streetlights and stormwater systems; 17 miles of water and wastewater pipes and multiple related pump stations; and over 15 miles of electric lines and poles and related transfer stations.

These systems collectively accommodated a very active military installation in support of our national defense. During its peak, the Navy base supported nearly 8,000 active duty and reserve military personnel and their associated families, as well as over 1,000 civilian workers. These infrastructure systems were designed and expanded to meet the Navy’s needs as its mission in Brunswick grew. Even while we grow again on the former base property, most systems are only operating at a fraction of their designed capacities and have many years of functional life left.

Since inheriting the Navy’s legacy utilities, infrastructure systems and buildings beginning in 2011, MRRA has invested nearly $70 million in upgrading and improving the electrical, wastewater, water, road, storm drains and airport systems and buildings on the former Navy base. These improvements have been critical to supporting the redevelopment effort and the realization of over $500 million in private sector investments and the creation of over 2,200 good-paying jobs from nearly 150 business entities (and growing) at Brunswick Landing and the Topsham Commerce Park to date.

In order to make these necessary improvements, MRRA implements an on-going (five-year rolling) capital improvement program, which forecasts and blends the capital improvement needs with various funding sources. To meet these needs, MRRA has been very successful in securing grant funding from multiple federal, state and local sources, most notably from the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Commerce Department Economic Development Administration, and the Maine departments of

Transportation and Economic and Community Development, as well as the Maine Technology Institute. MRRA and the Town of Brunswick have negotiated a tax increment financing agreement (TIF), whereby MRRA receives a portion of new real estate taxes generated from new business activity on Brunswick Landing for infrastructure improvements. In addition, the Brunswick Sewer District has also provided some supportive match funding to support the upgrades to the sewer pump stations for its eventual ownership.

While significant improvements have been made on the airport property (primarily related to runways, hangars, lighting and safety systems, wildlife fencing and drainage systems), other important upgrades are complete or are currently underway to the off-airport electric and sewer distribution and management systems, roads and water systems. Additional future improvements and upgrades are planned for roads and pedestrian pathways, as well for the water and stormwater distribution systems. We are currently seeking appropriate funding to support those efforts.

Existing occupants and future prospects looking at Brunswick Landing and the Topsham Commerce Park expect to have good quality infrastructure systems that support their residential or business uses. Be assured that MRRA is very cognizant of this issue and will always strive to have the most modern infrastructure systems possible that support continued investments and growth to achieve the vision of the Reuse Master Plan.

Steve Levesque is the executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority.

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