The 88th Air Base Wing — which acts as landlord of the 8,000-plus-acres base — said this week that it is “working to infuse third party investment into the installation’s programmatic interest through an Enhanced Use Lease.”
Such leases, or “EULs,” are used in the Department of Defense to “acquire, develop or upgrade land and facilities,” the base said. That lets the Air Base Wing “manage underutilized real estate consistent with” federal law, the base said.
Basically, Wright-Patterson is gathering information about possible “mutually beneficial commercial projects on non-excess Air Force real estate,” said Ashley Sadorra, the 88th Air Base Wing Strategic Initiative office program manager.
An Air Force map of completed EUL projects shows five locations at this point — Hill Air Force Base in Utah, Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota, Nellis AFB in Nevada, Luke AFB in Arizona, and Eglin AFB in Florida’s panhandle. Tyndall AFB, in Florida, is also “performing market research to assess private and/or public sector interest in optimizing the value of underutilized, non-excess real estate property parcels,” about 3,400 acres there.
Sadorra provided written responses to questions from the Dayton Daily News. Below are her full responses.
Where is this land?
As the 88th Air Base Wing has described the land that will be made available, “parcel 1” is the Gerlaugh Farm Tract, with 23.07 total acres and 22.3 developable acres, and “parcel 2” is the Area B Hilltop Tract, which covers 23.92 acres.
Sadorra: “Parcel 1 is located outside the base perimeter fence; Parcel 2 is inside of the secure base boundary perimeter fence; however, that fence may be relocated, allowing Parcel 2 to be outside of the base perimeter fence. Parcel 1 is located at 39°46′15.8″N 84°05′38.3″W (attached map). Parcel 2 is located at 39°46′55.6″N 84°04′46.8″W (see attached map)."
Are these locations accessible to the public? Or will it be made accessible by developers?
Sadorra: “The locations are not accessible to the public at this time, but may be made available at a future date.”
What kind of uses does WPAFB have in mind for these parcels?
Sadorra: “There is no definite viability or determination on what the land will be used for until questions come in after the RFI (request for information) is published. More information will follow after the Request For Information is posted.”
In the past, how have such EULs/leases been used? Who has developed land on the base, where and for what uses? How often has this happened?
Sadorra: "An EUL is a partnership between the Air Force and public entities or private developers to create mutually beneficial commercial projects on non-excess Air Force real estate. In exchange for leasing property, the Air Force receives cash or in-kind consideration, at or above fair market value. EUL projects range from energy to commercial real estate development.
Here is the link to all of the successful EULs that the Air Force has executed: https://www.afcec.af.mil/What-We-Do/Real-Estate-Development/EUL/Completed-Projects/. This link will also provide more information and generate interest regarding the current EUL solicitations at CONUS installations: https://www.afcec.af.mil/What-We-Do/Real-Estate-Development/EUL/Current-Solicitations/ ."
What other information does the base intend to share with prospective developers about these parcels?
Sadorra: “Questions will be addressed during the Industry Exchange event, which will occur in the (tentatively) Winter ’20 timeframe, as well as eventually posted to beta.SAM.gov.”
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