Paperwork signed for Yankee Air Museum to get part of bomber plant

On Thursday, the Yankee Air Museum declared “Mission Accomplished” to its drive to “Save the Bomber Plant” at a ceremony held at Willow Run Airport.
The Yankee Air Museum officially acquired 175,000 square feet of the former Willow Run Bomber Plant where Rosie the Riveters and other Michigan workers built more than 8,600 B-24 Liberator bombers during World War II.
The signing ceremony represented the culmination of efforts to raise the $8 million needed to save part of the factory for the nearby Yankee Air Museum’s new home.
Following the signing, two Rosies unveiled the name and logo of the planned facility: National Museum of Aviation and Technology at Historic Willow Run.
Officials said $5 million more is needed to “fill out the interior of the building” — to create the exhibits and infrastructure necessary to transform the edifice into a museum.
The facility in Van Buren Township was owned by the Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust, which took control of sites around the country left behind in General Motors’ bankruptcy.
In its recent budget, the state Legislature allocated $1.5 million to help the museum fund the expansion into the new space. The rest of the plant is currently being demolished with the process expected to finish within months, and Detroit-based Walbridge Development has a deal to explore the possibility of building a research-and-development operation for autonomous vehicles at the site.
Also celebrated Thursday was the reopening of the renovated Willow Run runway, originally used to launch B24 bombers back in 1939-41. The 7,526-foot runway is the airport’s longest. Renovation cost $45 million.
For more information about the museum project see historicwillowrun.org .