Officials enter agreement to create aerospace complex Published Oct. 1, 2008 TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) -- Air Force officials announced Sept. 25 that the service has signed a long-term lease agreement with Oklahoma County that will enable the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center to establish the Tinker Aerospace Complex here. The lease, which was signed Sept. 24, covers approximately 407 acres of land formerly occupied by the General Motors Plant, including 3.8 million gross square feet of real property, of which 3.5 million square feet is industrial and administrative space and is expected to improve the efficiency of current OC-ALC operations. Acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley praised the effort as another example of how the state of Oklahoma and Tinker AFB's surrounding communities work together in an unprecedented partnership to preserve and enhance national security. "The Air Force is very pleased to enter into a low-cost, long-term lease agreement with Oklahoma for the prior GM facility south of Tinker AFB," Secretary Donley said. "This facility will enhance operations at Tinker AFB and provide long term benefits to the Air Force." "This lease agreement will reduce the scope of projected military construction projects needed to replace substandard facilities, improve base energy usage, and provide flexibility for mission needs," said Maj. Gen. Loren Reno, OC-ALC commander. "It presents a tremendous opportunity for the air logistics center to improve the overall working environment for Team Tinker, and support our ability to secure the right workload for the ALC and help us better support the warfighter." The property was purchased from General Motors by the State of Oklahoma and Oklahoma County through a bond election in May with the intent of making the property available to Tinker AFB through a low-cost, long-term lease. The Tinker Aerospace Complex will host current 76th Maintenance Wing operations, as well as other Department of Defense missions. Base officials noted that in addition to improving aircraft sustainment, the complex will reduce taxpayer costs for facilities maintenance by allowing the base to mothball and eventually demolish 21 substandard facilities directly related to the Tinker Aerospace Complex. It will also improve airfield safety since many of these facilities are in the runway clear zones. "We will begin moving maintenance operations into the Tinker Aerospace Complex very quickly and anticipate having some of the processes running by summer 2009," said Jeff Catron, Tinker Aerospace Complex program manager Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page