Boston Globe NorthWest
November 6, 2003

Business tenant sought to keep base open

By Denise Dube, Globe Correspondent

BEDFORD -- MassDevelopment is lobbying to acquire a vacant 46-acre parcel adjacent to Hanscom Air Force Base, in hopes of attracting a high-tech or business enterprise that would make the base too valuable for the federal government to close.

The push for a technologically friendly tenant or owner comes just weeks before a Base Realignment and Closure report, or BRAC, expected from the secretary of defense's office by Dec. 31. That report will contain new criteria officials will use to determine whether to close or maintain bases across the country.

Some fear that Hanscom could be on the chopping block and want to circumvent that possibility by making the base economically important. Already, the base is known for its scientific and electronic projects, such as intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. The Airborne Warning and Control System was developed at Hanscom.

The base is surrounded by the Raytheon Co., the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratories and similar research and scientific industries. MassDevelopment would like to see 46 more acres of the same type of businesses.

''We know that [Governor Mitt] Romney is interested,'' Bedford Selectman Sheldon Moll said of the parcel that the governor's office and MassDevelopment are eyeing. ''They are working very hard to keep the base open.''

MassDevelopment is the state's independent economic development authority. The agency's senior vice president of legislative and military affairs, Alan Macdonald, said he is working with Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the governor's office, Navy property management officials, and the Air Force to acquire the property.

The site, located on the northerly and southerly sides of Hartwell Road, holds two hangars on the south parcel and one major building on the north, with several small structures on the land.

The US Navy established a Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve plant in 1952 at the site, and used it as a weapons development and testing station by Raytheon. Raytheon vacated the building a few years ago, according to Town Administrator Rick Reed.

''There is no doubt the Navy is very eager to find a new owner for the property,'' Macdonald said of the talks he's been having with the Navy for almost six months.

As for a sales price, Macdonald said the state would probably have an assessor look at the property.

''My understanding is the Navy has been pretty aggressively trying to get out of the land ownership business,'' Macdonald said. ''There's no point in owning land if it's not its military function. They are not going to be launching any major sea battles from there.''

MassDevelopment and Commonwealth officials became aware of the parcel's availability and stepped into the process when they learned the Army was planning a reservist center there.

Macdonald and the state are hoping to block that option. ''In our mind it provided no enhanced military value to Hanscom Air Force Base and provided minimal economic development to the surrounding region,'' he said of the reserve center.

Macdonald and MassDevelopment met with the Army. ''We expressed our thoughts. I don't know if they have officially stopped that pursuit or not.''

Gary Puryear, the Army official who has been working with Macdonald on the issue, couldn't be reached for comment.

The US Navy official in Washington who is working with Macdonald would not comment on the land or provide any information.

One glitch is that portions of the land are contaminated. Macdonald said he knows of gasoline and chlorinated solvents on the property, and that testing is continuing. The contamination will affect the price of the property, and cleaning up the site would be the responsibility of the Navy and any industry that took over the property.

''That's all negotiable,'' Macdonald said.

Macdonald and the governor want to make sure the site is used to enhance the current defense work done at Hanscom by the military, Mitre Corp., Lincoln Labs, and other organizations.

''We look at Hanscom as the ninth largest employer in the Commonwealth based on revenue,'' Macdonald said of the annual $3.2 billion generated by the base. ''And 14th based on total jobs'' of about 26,000.

For that reason, MassDevelopment is working with the government on the Base Realignment and Closure report that will emerge next month.

''The main thrust of our effort has been to fundamentally change the BRAC decision-making process itself,'' which was last done in 1995, he said. Previous reports, he said, evaluate bases with criteria that are irrelevant to the Bedford base.

''The contribution that Hanscom makes is completely based on the intellection capabilities of the New England region,'' Macdonald said. ''We have argued to the Pentagon the BRAC process is incapable of evaluating science and technology installations such as Hanscom and Natick [Labs] in a way that truly captures the value of those installations.''

''If the secretary wants to accomplish a transformed and military structure, he will need to set up an evaluation process that will truly evaluate the contributions and capabilities [of a technology based installation],'' he said.

This story ran on page 1 of the Boston Globe NorthWest on 11/6/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company. ==========
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