Miami-Dade is revisiting a deal with Homestead Air Reserve Base to devote land to the county for aviation purposes, according to Commissioner Dennis Moss. On Oct. 6th, a resolution will be put to vote asking Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez to “expeditiously effectuate a joint-use agreement with the United States of America to allow for a fixed-base operator” at the base.
For six years, the county has been in talks with the Air Force regarding the south side of the base’s airfield. This space could be used for general aviation purposes. While the timeframe on a typical joint-use agreement with the Air Force is 1-3 years, the clock didn’t even begin in 2016 or 2017. It wasn’t until 2018 that the Air Force actually received the request.
The goal of this resolution is to instruct the mayor to finish all the prerequisite work, pinpoint costs, and find funds to establish a general aviation operator at the base. It would also push to negotiate and cut a deal with the Air Force. In a break from the norm, it would allow the mayor to submit the agreement for approval at the next commission meeting with having to secure the committee’s review beforehand.
The mayor essentially has 2 months to make significant headway on the project or report “upon determination … that no funding source is available, legal or other impediments exist, or that negotiations are at an impasse.”
Homestead Air Reserve Base Aviation History
The base, previously known as Homestead Air Force Base, is home to the 482nd Fighter Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command’s Tenth Air Force. It serves as the headquarters of the Special Operations Command South. It also maintains a full-time detachment of F-15 Eagles from Florida’s National Guard. The base, used heavily during the Cold War, has been destroyed twice in its history, by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and an unnamed hurricane in 1945.
