The Future
After the military left the station, Puerto Rican Governor Sila María Calderón announced that her party, the PPD, had plans to turn the base into an international airport. This was backed in 2005 by the then-new Governor, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, who established that the area would be converted to an airport. He also established that Ceiba as a town would serve as an economic and tourist center for eastern Puerto Rico, and that converting the former military base into a civil airport would be part of a plan to open seven or eight large airports in Puerto Rico.
Currently, approximately 2,900 acres (12 km2) of the former Naval Station is being marketed to the public by the Los Angeles group of Colliers International, on behalf of the Navy's Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office, as a public auction to commence in the near future. The remaining portions is also in the process of being conveyed to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and other Federal agencies in various stages. Since November 2008, Puerto Rico Ports Authority operates the José Aponte de la Torre Airport.
The Atlantic Fleet Weapons Facility (AFWTF) main building, The small arms range and other facilities were transferred to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Read more about this topic: Roosevelt Roads Naval Station
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