The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center has entered into a lease and Memorandum of Understanding with the South Jersey Economic Development District to build an Aviation Research and Technology Park adjacent to the Technical Center, near Atlantic City, N.J. The lease transfers control of 55 acres of Technical Center property for construction of the complex. The agreement was signed October 31.

The park, which will be built at no direct cost to the FAA, will be a high-technology, integrated, dynamic aviation facility that provides the infrastructure for national and international leadership in aviation research and technologies. The park will offer a central location for the FAA's partners to perform research, development, testing, integration and verification of the technologies, concepts and procedures required by the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

By 2025 U.S. air traffic is predicted to more than double, and the current air traffic control system will not be able to manage this growth. NextGen is a transformation of the National Airspace System (NAS), including the national system of airports, which uses 21st century technologies to ensure that future safety, capacity and environmental needs are met. NextGen will be realized through coordinated efforts by the Departments of Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, and Commerce, as well as the FAA, NASA, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The NextGen vision was developed by the Joint Planning and Development Office, which facilitates interagency cooperation.

The Aviation Research and Technology Park, Inc., was created as a nonprofit corporation and includes representatives of state and local government agencies, academia, and the private sector. With several direct participants and even more stakeholders in this project, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the South Jersey Economic Development District were co-applicants on a $2.5 million grant from the U. S. Economic Development Administration to build the infrastructure of the research park.

The South Jersey Economic Development Division received the grant and secured a $5 million bank loan to develop the infrastructure. As lessee of the 55 acres from the FAA, the Economic Development Division prepared an aggressive schedule, with construction scheduled to begin in April 2009 and completion planned for April 2011.

The lease authorizes construction and maintenance of the facilities, and the creation and operation of the Aviation Research and Technology Park, a research institution to perform aviation research and development; aviation security and safety; research, development, and testing of air traffic control systems; and research and development for airports and airport operations. The memorandum of agreement supplements the terms and conditions of the lease and clarifies use of the land.

The Aviation Research and Technology Park will complement Florida's NextGen demonstration capabilities at Daytona International Airport. Advanced NextGen technologies developed and tested at the Technical Center will be demonstrated in an operational environment at Daytona, then returned to the Technical Center for integration with the current NAS and other components of NextGen.