We’re a little more than four years into the redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station in Brunswick, now called Brunswick Landing, and the Topsham Commerce Park. As the end of the summer approaches, this is a good time for a back-to-school report on the redevelopment project.

The region should be proud to know that the redevelopment effort is recognized nationally as a model for excellence in base redevelopment. The Department of Defense reports that the NAS Brunswick redevelopment effort is far ahead of all other former military bases from the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) peer group in terms of redevelopment success. We’re delighted to report that things continue to progress nicely despite the many challenges we face.

Let’s get right to the numbers. Here’s a look at the economic impact of redevelopment since the Navy left in May of 2011, just four years ago:

• 730 jobs have been created — about 60 percent more than projected four years into this project. We expect to have more than 800 employees working here in highpaying, quality positions by the end of the year.

• More than $65 million in property valuation has been added to tax rolls of the Towns of Brunswick and Topsham. That value didn’t exist when the Navy was here.

• More than $1.8 million in property taxes have been generated by the redevelopment effort to date. Brunswick Landing is now home to over 75 business entities, including 25 that are new to the State of Maine. Many of these businesses have international and multi-state reach.

• Over $150 million of private sector investment has occurred in both Brunswick and Topsham and we have attracted seven development companies to date. Another $50 million is in the planning stages for the next 12 months.

• More than $50 million in state and local contracts have been awarded for various projects at Brunswick Landing and Topsham Commerce Park.

• TechPlace, Brunswick’s technology accelerator/manufacturing business incubator for start-ups, opened at the beginning of the year and already has 18 new innovative businesses.

• Brunswick Executive Airport, which opened April 2011 while the Navy was still here, has grown steadily to nearly 14,000 air operations (takeoffs/landings). This equates to more fuel sales, airport jobs, and more planes based here. The Town of Brunswick benefits from significant excise tax collected from owners of planes registered at BXM.

• Southern Maine Community College established its Midcoast Campus at Brunswick Landing with its world-class composites program and research lab. More than 900 students attend classes at SMCC.

While the economy has improved, MRRA has also lightened its carbon footprint. We purchase 100 percent renewable energy to power Brunswick Landing. By the end of the year, MRRA will be generating approximately 50 percent of its electricity needs using an anaerobic digester facility being built by Village Green Ventures. The digester will help the area dispose of excess organic waste and sewer sludge, which will eventually help save local ratepayers and business owners money while offering tenants at Brunswick Landing a more stable, lower cost electricity rate than they’ll find anywhere else in the region.

Space is filling up rapidly at Brunswick Landing, but we still have plenty of fine facilities available for aerospace, composites, advanced manufacturing, biotech, IT and other industries. We expect to receive even more property from the Navy by the end of the year or early 2016. MRRA now owns about 1,400 acres and more than 900,000 square feet of building space. We continue to convey property to the private sector, which spurs more activity. For example, we currently have more than $45 million worth of construction projects under way on the property. That provides a significant short-term boost to the local economy. Developers like Jim Howard, George Schott, Tom Wright, Mitch Rousseau and Doug Cardente are investing millions in former Navy property and their pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit is very much appreciated.

We’ve enjoyed working with the Town of Brunswick and others to improve open space and recreational activities at Brunswick Landing. We recently opened the gates along the north perimeter road to pedestrian and bicyclists. This allows safe passage by nonmotorists to Brunswick Landing and to the Cook’s Corner area from downtown and Bowdoin College. In a couple of years, you’ll be able to circumnavigate the entire perimeter of the property via a new trail system. The Town moved its recreation center to the former Navy field house. And MRRA also added about 18 acres of habitat for endangered bird species on airport property to the north side of Bath Road.

You may also have noticed some cosmetic improvements with new signage and removal of unsightly buildings and structures. We’ve added bright new Brunswick Landing signs in front of the campus and have demolished outdated former Navy facilities that were unsuitable for redevelopment and were eyesores. Last year, we removed the rusty old fence from Bath Road and replaced it with a new wooden guard rail.

Our public works crew has been working extremely hard this summer to keep Brunswick Landing looking great. Aside from beautification efforts, MRRA’s public works is equally focused on improving our infrastructure, which in some cases, is crumbling due to age and neglect. Unexpected issues with the power grid, water, sewer and stormwater systems cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars, but we’ve made good headway with eliminating unaccounted for electricity usage, also known as vampires. We continue working to solve some of our inflow and infiltration problems, which plague our stormwater and sanitary sewer systems.

We’ve started tracking some of our key performance metrics. If you’d like to follow our progress, we keep a document called the MRRA Dashboard on our website and update it quarterly. And as always, if you have any questions or suggestions, let us know.

Lastly, we are all very excited about the being the host site for the Great State of Maine Air Show featuring the U.S Navy Blue Angels on Labor Day weekend. This is a spectacular event that brings thousands of people to our community and has a huge impact on the local economy. We look forward to seeing you there.

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Steve Levesque is the executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority.