BRUNSWICK – The company that owns all Brunswick Naval Air Station’s military family housing and has a 50-year ground lease wants to sell its lease and be out of the base at the same time as the Navy.
Mark Lavin of GMH Housing went over the company’s plan with the Local Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday afternoon. He was to give the same presentation to the Topsham Local Redevelopment Authority later in the day.
Lavin said the company will lose 723 housing units in Brunswick in the planned 2011 closing of BNAS. But who will take ownership of the land and how GMH will get out of its deal are still unknown.
“We’re kind of in limbo as well,” Lavin said. “We know we want to get out of the lease in Brunswick, but we’re not sure how that happens.”
He said the company doesn’t expect much to change until 2008, when there will be a gradual drawing of troops out of the area.
GMH and the Navy entered into a partnership called Northeast Housing LLC in November 2004. GMH became responsible for the management and development of military family housing units and the Navy dedicated its housing assets and land through the 50-year ground lease.
Brunswick is one of eight installations included under the Northeast Housing LLC partnership, which was worth $614 million at its inception. Lavin said when GMH pulls out of Brunswick, the value will be reduced to $477 million.
GMH manages housing at 29 military installations across the country. This is the first of its properties to go through a base closure.
To get out of Brunswick, GMH must first refinance a loan that it secured using the Brunswick units as collateral. Once it gets the lien off the houses, it can work on disposing of them. Lavin said refinancing should be complete by late June.
The company took over 728 units in Brunswick at the inception of the partnership. It has demolished some, including 48 units in Topsham, and constructed others, including 22 units just completed and as yet unoccupied at the base.
GMH only works with military family housing. The Navy is still in charge of all housing for unmarried service members.
At the same meeting, the Local Redevelopment Authority agreed to send a letter to the Navy expressing concern over three proposals from government agencies that have expressed interest in obtaining portions of the base after closure. Marty Wilk, chairman of the Local Redevelopment Authority, said of four proposals that are moving forward there was only one that he fully approved, which is a plan from the Federal Aviation Administration to take over the radar facility and control tower.
Other proposals are from the Air Force, Army and Penobscot Indian Nation.
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