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WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — The commander of the unit that operates this sprawling base has the tricky job of coordinating 15 construction projects to house the research programs being moved into Wright-Patterson within five years.

Col. Colleen Ryan, commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, said Wright-Patterson is counting on an appropriation of $260 million for the federal fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 to start the construction of laboratories, offices and residence halls for medical students. The funding would be 78 percent of the overall $335 million that the base expects to pay for the construction needed to have all the programs up and running at Wright-Patterson by Sept. 30, 2011.

President Bush is expected to send his budget proposal in early February to Congress, which could reshape funding appropriations.

Wright-Patterson's construction plans are being worked out between Air Force base officials, the Army Corps of Engineers and representatives of the out-of-state military programs that are to be relocated to the base.

The job will be done to meet the Base Realignment and Closure Act's deadlines, but it represents a challenge because of the compressed time frame, Ryan said.

"That's really a huge amount of military construction to do in the time frame that we're talking about," she said. "It's not simply office buildings with cubicles. This is laboratories, research facilities."

Coalition spreads

the good word about Dayton

The research jobs that will be coming to Wright-Patterson, plus hundreds of defense contractor positions that could also transfer from Texas and Arizona, represent an economic impact of at least $100 million, said Michael Gessel, vice president for federal government programs at the Dayton Development Coalition. The 2005 annual payroll for Wright-Patterson and associated employees was estimated at $1.2 billion.

The coalition, which promotes the region's economic development, lobbied hard in the BRAC process on behalf of Wright-Patterson, a key source of jobs in the Miami Valley.

The coalition has also organized trips by area university researchers, business executives and others to Mesa, Ariz. and San Antonio to promote the Dayton region and distribute information about its cost of living, spouse employment opportunities, housing and attractions.

The intent is to persuade experienced defense contractor employees to relocate to Dayton when the programs move. More recruitment missions are planned, said Jim Leftwich, the coalition's vice president for aerospace, defense and technology.

In some other BRAC-required relocations of military programs, as few as 20 percent of the employees who had a choice about moving chose to relocate with the programs, according to officials of the coalition and Wright-Patterson.

Projects coming to Wright-Pat

The Base Realignment and Closure Act will bring many jobs and projects to the base. Here's a look at the new construction at Area B and who's moving in:

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.