Move Follows Closure Of The City's Naval Air Station

Embry-Riddle University has quietly pulled out of plans to maintain a campus at the closing Brunswick, ME Naval Air Station. The school had announced two years ago that it would remain in the area following the station's closure by BRAC.

The city had been hoping that the presence of ERAU on the former base after its closure this coming May would help attract other aviation-related industry to the region. The school had reportedly discussed expanding its offerings to serve as many as 2,500 students after the base officially closed.

But now, the Brunswick Times Record reports that ERAU officials quietly closed up shop in the fall, according to Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, which is charged with the civilian re-development of the base.

Kestrel File Photo

Levesque said the Southern Maine Community College and the University if Maine are seeking to establish an aviation program as part of the community college system, and that they will pick up where ERAU left off at the base. He said that Kestrel Aircraft Company, Alan Klapmeier's new venture, selected Brunswick specifically because of a workforce skilled in composites manufacturing and the presence of the community college.

FMI: www.mrra.us