Former Navy hanger change of use moves forward - Hanscom expansion update

A state agency has granted a waiver to allow developers to renovate a disused Navy hangar at Hanscom Field in Bedford while they await a final decision on a plan to significantly increase hangar space and other work in a larger surrounding area for private and commercial aviation.

North Airfield Ventures LLC and Runway Realty Ventures LLC will lease space to Merlin, which has teamed up with MIT Lincoln Lab, the FAA, and the U.S. Air Force to test systems that would enable military and commercial aircraft to operate with just one person at the controls — and someday, perhaps, with no one at all, according to a May 30, 2024 Boston Globe article.

The original plan — which was first proposed in 2023 and engendered significant opposition from hundreds of residents, officials, scientists, and others — calls for adding almost 500,000 square feet of new hangar space on a 47-acre parcel on the north side of Hanscom Field. The state issued a ruling in June 2024 saying that the developers’ Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the project that “does not adequately and properly comply” with Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office regulations. The developers are expected to file an amended environmental impact report later this year...

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