This project would fund land acquisition for future development around the base, Turner said in a May letter to Chairman Tom Cole, head of the House Appropriations Committee.
“This project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will support important missions at the base that are critical for our national security,” Turner added.
The project funding for fiscal year 2026 is designated for land acquisition but as of now, no land has been identified for acquisition, said Dave Burrows, an executive with the Dayton Development Coalition and a member of the Wright Patterson Regional Council of Governments.
The letter names Fairborn city government as the entity to receive funding for the project.
Fairborn has been acting as the fiscal representative of the council of governments, a group of municipal and Dayton-area governments united by a desire to protect and work with Wright-Patterson, the largest single-site employer in Ohio. Nearly 40,000 military and civilian employees work on the base.
In February, Wright-Patterson and Beavercreek developer Synergy and Mills Development announced that the Air Force was making 43 acres available for an “enhanced use lease,” a place for businesses to operate on federal land that will host what local leaders say will be a $250 million research center and office complex.
The development planned for the west side of National Road is one of the biggest commercial projects in Dayton-area history, advocates said at the time.
Formed in 2020, the regional council’s purpose is to work with the base on issues like land-use planning, development, and infrastructure to ensure compatibility with the Air Force’s missions and safety. The organization can pass its own laws and spend money, similar to any Ohio municipal government.
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