BRUNSWICK (AP) – After two years of work, a redevelopment panel has unanimously approved a road map to guide reuse of the 3,200-acre Brunswick Naval Air Station after it closes in 2011.

“This is really a recipe for bringing economic vitality to the region,” said Dana Totman, one of the 12 members of the Brunswick Local Redevelopment Authority that adopted the master plan on Wednesday.

Key features of the plan include an office park, a resort hotel and golf course, a general aviation airport, a college campus and hundreds of acres earmarked for recreation.

While details must still be ironed out and there could be changes in the plan before it’s submitted to the Department of Defense in December, the document is likely to shape the future of the base that has been part of the local landscape since World War II.

Specific businesses and entities that will operate on the base will be selected by the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, which is being formed to replace the planning authority in January.

While the base would no longer be available for use by military aircraft, the plan reserves more than 700 acres for airport operations and aviation-related businesses, including aircraft maintenance, aviation manufacturing and aerospace research.

A total of more than 700 acres would be allotted to professional office space or business-related uses, creating Maine’s largest business park, said Steve Levesque, the authority’s director. A key component is a 120-acre professional office park on Bath Road.

Nearly 1,500 acres are to be reserved for open space and recreational uses, which could include public parks, gardens, bicycle trails, equestrian facilities, hiking trails and environmental education.

Other elements of the plan include a new campus operated by Southern Maine Community College, low-density housing and community mixed use development, which might feature offices, retail space, day-care centers, assisted senior housing, or civic and cultural uses.

The authority has met monthly and held numerous meetings to gain public input.

“The public has been very engaged in this process,” Levesque said.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-09-20-07 0959EDT