Loring Air Force Base - Current Status

Current Status

Loring AFB was closed as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure process in 1991, officially closing on September 30, 1994. immediately, the town of Limestone was decimated. At the time of closure, almost 10,000 people called Limestone home, but by 2000, just over 2,000 people were still living in town, around a 76% drop in population. Since 19% of the regional economy was related to Loring, the loss of all the jobs created a huge void in the local economy.

One of the more immediate ideas for redevelopment of the base was to turn it into a federal prison, something which had been done previously at the former Carswell Air Force Base when the Federal Medical Center, Carswell was opened on its grounds. Additionally, many other former Air Force facilities have had prisons opened up on their grounds as well. From the outset, there was some reluctance in the town about turning it into a prison culture, but this was lessened once the government decided that it didn't want to build a federal prison on the grounds of the former air base.

Since the base has closed, the Loring Development Authority helped created the Loring Commerce Centre on 9,472-acre (38.33 km2) of land, marketing it as an "aviation and industrial complex and business park". Through the efforts of the authority, 1,400 jobs have been created, more than replacing the 1,000 civilian jobs that were lost when the base closed. Tenants such as Bigelow Aerospace maintain a small satellite tracking station on the grounds as well. SAIC is developing an unmanned blimp at the base as well, and Sitel also maintains a call center at Loring. In addition to the Sitel site, other various call centers exist on the base, as well as food processing, forestry operations, light manufacturing, and aviation services. The Canadian professional services company Stantec also has an office at Loring. Finally, the Loring Military Heritage Center, a museum dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of the base, is located in the base's former bank.

The military has also made a return back to Loring over the years. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service Limestone, a major component of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service office (BRAC 2005 consolidated 26 offices into 5 and this was one of the consolidation points. This facility is located in the old base hospital, which was constructed after the earthquake in the 1980s. The Maine Military Authority, refurbishes Humvees for the United States Army and Marine Corps in one of the base's large hangers. Additionally, the Air Force Real Property Agency is in the process of conducting the distribution of resources at Loring. The federal government has also returned with the United States Department of Labor creating a Job Corps center, with the aim of helping to prepare teenagers for careers in culinary arts, medical support and other growth industries.

Post-base usage isn't limited to just business. The airfield was used by the popular jam-band Phish, to hold its massive festival concerts, "The Great Went" in 1997, the Lemonwheel in 1998 and "It" in 2003. Estimated attendance was 65,000 concert-goers and Phish was the only band. Fans camped on-site in tents, creating a community of fans that became the second-largest city in Maine during all three events (This wasn't even the largest concert to occur in the Northeast during that time, as Woodstock 1999 happened at the former Griffiss Air Force Base, with approximately 200,000 people attending the event). Additionally, the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge, run by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on 4,700 acres (19 km2) of the base property was established in 1998. The refuge consists of the former weapons area, which operated as Caribou Air Force Station from 1951 until 1962, when it was absorbed into Loring. Furthermore, the runway has become home to land-speed racing events, where participants use its runway for timing trials.

Loring's air traffic control tower remains standing, but was closed following the closure of Loring AFB. However, the airfield's navigational aids such as the VOR/DME and ILS remain operational.