MetroWest Daily News
Thursday, September 9, 2004

Selectmen support plans to improve Air Force base

By Cheryl Lecesse

The Hanscom Area Towns selectmen voted unanimously last night to
endorse the state Defense Technology Initiative's $410 million plan to
improve Hanscom Air Force Base's infrastructure.

Thomas Ennis of the state Port Authority said the plan would use part
of the base's 76 acres of parking space to build new housing and new
research and development facilities. He said introducing internal
transportation and creating a campus feel would lessen the need for driving
and for parking on base, making room for the proposed buildings.

The plan also includes 800 more housing units and building an underpass
at Hartwell Avenue and Routes 4 and 225 to make the jug handle intersection
less congested.

Alan Macdonald, executive director of MassDTI, said the plan would add
1.25 million square feet of space for new missions for the base, with the
potential of creating 4,000 new jobs. Macdonald said the state would fund
about $241 million of the proposal. He said the remaining $168 million for
on-base housing would pay for itself through rental agreements.

About 40 people, including representatives of Minuteman National Park,
the office of U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Malden, and of Gov. Mitt Romney's
office attended the meeting, and many said they were in favor of the plan.
Suggestions included expanding the Minuteman Bicycle Trail to include an
entrance to the base and enhancing public transportation to the base from
other areas, such as Alewife Station in Cambridge.

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