Air Force transfers last piece of former Lowry AFB back to community

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christopher Gross
  • 460th Space Wing Public Affairs
BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) --  The final 70 acres of the former Buckley Annex was given back to the Denver community during a final transfer ceremony June 1 here.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said the old Lowry Air Force Base was once a thriving hub for the United States Air Force and its members, and is now a vibrant and prosperous residential neighborhood.

Work for the redevelopment process started almost immediately after the closure of the Buckley Annex was announced in 2005, according to Montgomery Force, the executive director of the Lowry Redevelopment Authority.

The transfer of Lowry AFB will result in approximately 800 homes with close proximity to parks, schools, jobs and transportation. It's sought to generate almost 700 retail, construction and office jobs and gain more than $5 million of positive economic growth.

Terry Yonkers, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, said he was very impressed with the progress made since the closure of Lowry AFB more than two decades ago.

He described Lowry as unrecognizable after years of redevelopment and said it has been a tremendous success.

"This is the combination now of almost decades of hard work by a whole lot of folks and the community," Yonkers said. "More importantly this is the whole base transfer. You've taken everything that the Air Force had and transferred it by virtually signing the document today over to the redevelopment authority and the general community."