Brooks City Base

Brooks is a mixed-use development built on the site of the former Brooks Air Force Base, which was deactivated by the United States Air Force in 2002.

Following the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), when Brooks AFB was removed from the list, city, state, military, and community planners began several years of hard work to develop a plan to privatize approved the gradual transition in ownership of Brooks AFB from the Air Force to the Brooks Development Authority. The Brooks Development Authority took management of the newly renamed Brooks City-Base on July 22, 2002, completing the transformation. Brooks City-Base was placed back on the BRAC list in 2005. On September 15, 2011, the Air Force’s operations came to an end. The term “City Base” was omitted from the development’s name in 2017 in order to better express that the location is no longer an operating base and is open to all visitors.

The Brooks Development Authority has demonstrated economic development success through projects such as a 62-acre (250,000 m2) retail development, approximately 256,000 square feet (23,800 m2) of research and distribution facilities for DPT Laboratories, the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (an infectious disease research institute coordinated with the University of Texas at San Antonio), an international pharmaceutical company, and a $25.5 million City Hall renovation. The 311th Air Base Group was deactivated on September 1, 2011, and the remaining few USAF troops had permanently closed the base by the 15th of that month.

Brooks Academy of Science and Engineering, a STEM charter school, began building on 8 acres of land in Brooks’ southeast corner in the spring of 2006. Classes began in August 2006 at a temporary location on South Presa Street (in the far west portion of Brooks), and pupils were transported to the current Brooks Academy location (on the north side of Lyster Road) in March 2007.

Texas A&M University established a satellite campus at 2601 Louis Bauer Drive (in the western section of Brooks) in August 2011, which houses the College of Business and the Department of Counseling and Leadership.

Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, a $90 million facility, opened its doors in 2012 at 3327 Research Plaza.

The University of the Incarnate Word inaugurated a School of Osteopathic Medicine on 16 acres in the northwest portion of Brooks (at 100 Kennedy Circle) on August 8, 2016, in buildings that were previously the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. Classes will commence in August of this year.

The San Antonio native is hoping to change careers. The Texas transplant looking for a new place to call home. The family is making memories. The pupil who aspires to be more. Brooks is the man for you. Brooks is a 1,308-acre community with over 3,200 residents who live, work, learn, play, and stay. Everything is possible, and everything is happening at Brooks in San Antonio.

History
Brooks Air Force Facility, Texas, formerly known as Gosport Field, Kelly Field No. 5, and Brooks Field, was constructed in 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I, and functioned largely as a flying base during both World Wars. During the Korean War, Brooks was converted into a reserve training center and, later, a research facility specializing in aerospace medical research. President John F. Kennedy dedicated the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine in 1963, which made significant contributions to the growth of the United States space program.

The installation was renamed Brooks City-Base in 2002 and was proposed for closure in 2005 by the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Brooks City-Base officially closed its doors on September 15, 2011. Brooks is now handled by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center in San Antonio, Texas, as one of 40 former sites.

Environmental Initiatives
AFCEC continues to collaborate with the EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to ensure that environmental cleanup actions meet all regulatory criteria while safeguarding human health and the environment. AFCEC’s commitment in BRAC environmental efforts at the former base includes cleaning up petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater, removing asbestos-containing materials from facilities, and conducting comprehensive sampling to ensure that cleanup actions are successful.

Transfer of Property
In 2011, AFCEC completed Whole Base Transfer. The Brooks Development Authority, the property’s local redevelopment authority, has turned the military base into a master planned neighborhood with mixed-use developments. Over 400,000 square feet of commercial, industrial, and retail space, as well as affordable housing for regional residents, are housed in the space. The former base also houses a cutting-edge hospital that opened in 2011.