Brookley cleans up for Airbus

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Airbus is already creating a transformation at Brookley Field, long before the aircraft manufacturing giant begins making planes in Mobile.

There's fresh paint, re-paved roads, new landscaping, on Wednesday. The renovations are part of an all-out push to attract the suppliers Airbus will need to build A-320 planes in the Port City.

Brookley Field transformed

Everywhere you look at Brookley Field, something is being done or already has been done.

Buddy Rice with the Mobile Airport Authority said, "Landscaping with the trees and the flowers and the green areas. New sidewalks are going in. Michigan Avenue and Broad Street are being resurfaced in just a few weeks."

Rice is in charge of Public Relations at Brookley; he told us everything happening at Brookley will bring real impacts for Mobile and the surrounding area.

"There's not many cities in the world that are in a great position like we are today," Rice said.

Staging begins

Like a good realtor staging a home, Brookley Field is being staged to attract buyers, but officials aren’t cleaning up Brookley Field just to make it pretty for Airbus.

They also want to lure in all those extra suppliers. When they visit, Brookley officials want them to see the potential. Those suppliers alone are projected to create 3,700 jobs and they'll expect a lot of Brookley when they come for a visit.

"They expect a property that is modern, that is efficient," Rice said.

Rice hopes to have many of the improvements done by later this year, so he hopes that's exactly what they'll see.