TUSTIN : Grant to Help Pay for Closing Marine Base
The Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, scheduled to close in 1997, has received a $750,000 planning grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.
The grant will enable the city to hire a consulting firm to develop a plan for closing the helicopter base and relocating employees and military equipment to Twentynine Palms, said Assistant City Manager Christine Shingleton. Plans call for selling the closed base to a developer who would shoulder a portion of relocation costs.
There are no specific redevelopment plans for the site, but officials have ruled out some options, Shingleton said.
“Any type of regional jail would not be appropriate,” she said. “No airport, no toxic-waste disposal facility.”
The base is the city’s largest employer with 4,100 military and civilian workers. Officials will use some of the grant money to help determine how closing the base will financially impact the city.
No developer has emerged as a potential buyer for the property, which is valued at $682 million to $785 million, according to city officials.
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