A Model for Successful Reutilization of a Military Installation

Previous research concerning base closure and reutilization focused on the roles of government agencies and the assistance they provided. This study looks at the community and the impact of installation closure. The process of planning for reuse of an installation is difficult and confusing. The guidance provided by the government has changed drastically since the first closures announced in the 1988 Base Realignment and Closure Committee recommendations. This study focuses on the strategy employed by Kettering, OH to successfully reuse Gentile AFS upon closure. As the final part in a longitudinal study, the research focus was lessons learned and implementation challenges for the city of Kettering. Research findings indicated Kettering would be successful in their attempts to reuse Gentile AFS as a business park. Recommendations were to locate a liaison on site to deal with the daily operations of conveying the facilities and property to the local community. This liaison should be employed by the local community to represent the community's interests. Further, the model used by Kettering could be adapted for any installation and help the local community break down the enormous task of reutilization into several tasks of more manageable size.