Redevelopment plan for shuttered Pa. base approved

HORSHAM, Pa. - March 22, 2012 (WPVI) -- A local land reuse board has approved a plan to turn a shuttered suburban Philadelphia air base into retail and office space along with 1,400 units of housing.

The Horsham Land Reuse Authority on Wednesday approved the plans for the now-closed Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base by a 7-1 vote.

The plans for the 862-acre site still need to be approved by federal officials, including the Department of Defense. That could take up to two years.

The base shut down last year after a protracted fight that began with a 2005 Base Realignment and Closure recommendation.

The redevelopment proposal includes a planned 137,000-square-foot hotel and conference center, a middle school and a 133-acre office park that could bring as many as 7,000 jobs to the site.

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pennsylvania, montgomery county, military, local/state

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