The sale of a large portion of the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station is set to bring a large redevelopment project to Horsham Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
A ceremonial signing event commemorating the agreement of sale with the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority for over 100 acres of air station property took place on Friday morning. The event was a major step forward in the transformation of the 862-acre site, according to HLRA.
The plan is to add homes, a town center with shopping and an aviation museum to the site.
CBS News Philadelphia spoke with the Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum manager, Ron Whetstone, who said he and his coworkers were delighted to hear word that an agreement was reached to develop 118 acres of the Willow Grove Naval Air Station property.
Now they are looking toward the future.
For the museum, it'll allow for expansion, where thousands of artifacts currently sitting in trailers can be showcased.
"The worst thing is to accept it and then put it in a trailer somewhere where it never gets seen," Whetstone said. "This will change that."
The formal deal between the Navy and the HLRA allows for a 100-acre section of the 862-acre base to break off and be developed.
One of the first projects will be reconnecting Norristown Road between Horsham and Easton roads.
"Finally, people will be able to stop driving around the base property to get where they're going," said William Whiteside with HLRA.
The Willow Grove Naval Air Station officially closed on Sept. 15, 2011. Months earlier, Navy and Marine Corps squadrons/units moved to McGuire Air Force base in New Jersey on March 31, 2011.
"A lot of our residents have thrown in the towel, saying it had never happened," said Horsham Township manager Bill Gildea-Walker.
However, environmental problems on the base were well publicized. Contamination from toxic "forever chemicals," or PFAS, slowed down redevelopment, but not on the site being developed now.
"The PFAS, which is the major issue, is all on the other part of the base," Whiteside said. "There are very stringent processes that are and will be in place for any and all development that takes place."
Over the next two years, phase one includes the construction of roads and utilities, as well as a business park.
Federal grants will finance some of the start-up costs. Officials are working to acquire the remaining 700-plus acres of the base for homes and a town center.
"I've always said if we get it right, people will remember us for 50 years; if we get it wrong, they will remember us forever," Gildea-Walker said.
For the crew inside the museum, their own future and expansion are close to their heart. They preserve an important piece of history.
"If we aren't there, you'll see a blue sign by the side of the road that says 'once there was an airbase here, have a nice day,'" a member of the museum crew said.