Final Environmental Assessment: Addressing An Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) Lifestyle Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

AAFES proposes to construct a Lifestyle Center at Eglin AFB. The Lifestyle Center would be composed of key facilities, one at each end of the development. Preliminary plans position the main Base Exchange BX at one end of the Lifestyle Center, and another major establishment, such as a first-run movie theater, at the other end. Between these two anchors would be a Main Street-style center featuring name-brand retailers and tenants that are found in many modern retail destination centers throughout the country such as name-brand apparel stores, book stores, sit-down restaurants and food courts, and various service tenants. The Lifestyle Center would be designed as an architecturally pleasing one-stop destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment. It would be intended to appeal to and satisfy the needs of the modern military consumer. The proposed Lifestyle Center is anticipated to create approximately 850 new jobs in the local area. This EA evaluates the potential environmental consequences of the Proposed Action and alternatives including the No Action Alternative, on the following 11 general impact topics acoustical environment land use, air quality, geological resources, water resources, biological resources, cultural resources socioeconomic resources and environmental justice, traffic, utilities, and hazardous materials and wastes.