Half-a-century of making an economic engine out of the grounds around the largest air force reserve base in the country is being celebrated in Western Massachusetts.
For 50 years, what once a spot that had roles in World War II through the Vietnam War has grown into one of the biggest economic hubs in the region.
It was 1974 when the Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation was created – tasked with overseeing the Westover Metro Airport and developing the surrounding area.
It followed the then-Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee going from active to reserve, with a shift toward forming a joint-use civilian/military airfield.
Four industrial parks and 1,300 acquired acres later, the WMDC has a lot under its wing – with some of those accomplishments celebrated this month during its 50th anniversary.
“On behalf of Westover and the US Air Force, we’re excited to see what the next 50 is going to bring us,” Colonel Gregory Buchanan, Commander of the 439th Airlift Wing assigned to Westover Air Reserve Base, said at the event Thursday.
The celebration took place in one of the hangars the WMDC has been redeveloping.
It’s part of a triple-threat-effort: refurbishing structures on the grounds dating back to the 50s, running the civilian airport, and developing properties outside the runways – which are still maintained by the military.
Developing what some refer to as “airparks,” officials say some 100 establishments make use of the WMDC areas across Chicopee and neighboring Ludlow.
Chicopee Mayor John Vieau tells WAMC it makes for a healthy tax base for the city.
"The tax base, the $4.3 million for the city of Chicopee annually, really helps, and that's one of the selling points as mayor - my goal is to keep it affordable for the residents who live here,” he said. “With our split tax rate and them paying their fair share as an industrial base, it's really been beneficial to the residency and the people who own homes."
According to the UMass Donahue Institute, business activity at WMDC-developed areas is “estimated to support a total of $2.2 billion in economic output and 8,438 jobs around Massachusetts annually.”
Attracting a large number of manufacturers over the years, WMDC president and airport manager Andy Widor says the development corporation also fosters private aviation use.
That includes plane storage, as well as sports stars and celebrities arriving at the airfield for the recent Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement.
He says attracting more air hangar tenants is among future goals of the outfit – that and the aviation industry.
“It's attracting various types of aviation businesses, as there is land that's available within the airport capacity to develop, whether it's an aircraft maintenance facility or whether or not it's another aircraft storage facility, but there's a lot of room to expand the airport,” Widor said.
Also contributing a sizable economic impact is the reserve base itself.
Despite the downsizing in the 70s and a great deal of military property being converted for civilian use, the reserve base supports more than 5,500 military members and civilian workers.
With the military running air traffic control over the airfield’s two runways, Colonel Buchanan tells WAMC the partnership between the base and WMDC goes both ways.
“It's a great, symbiotic relationship,” he said. “WMDC has actually provided pilot control lighting through their own grants and through their own funding, which allows our pilots to land any time of the night. And so really, the community, we derive strength from the community, and this relationship, in and of itself, is just a perfect example of that.”
