Landing gear down: Small airports dig in to survive
By jeffrey t. lavery
To sum up the small airport industry in one word, "challenging," would barely scrape the surface of what operators face on a daily basis.
Rising fuel costs, inadequate financing and skyrocketing property taxes top the list in an industry that can only be described as a labor of love. Numerous private airports across Central Massachusetts, sometimes no more than a strip of grass and a windsock, have shut down over the years, with experts forecasting more to come.Throughout the region, however, some airports are finding new uses. In some cases, the owners reluctantly sold the property to a developer. And in others, the airport switched its focus from servicing more than just the weekend pilot by renting spare land to businesses.
The airport business by itself is "worth nothing," says Joe Menfi, owner of Hopedale airport and industrial park. "But we want this airport to survive."
Hard times for private airports
In April, Oxford Airport sold to Southboro-based storage firm Eagle Leasing, ousting pilots and a training school to parts unknown. Now, instead of planes, tractor-trailers and box containers line the runway. While owners Dan and Pat Robbins offered no comment on the sale of Oxford Airport, Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates broker Matthew Maynard noted that Mr. Robbins had fallen ill in recent years, making the management of the airport difficult. While efforts were made to sustain the airport, it could not be saved.
"We did try to market it as an airport," says Maynard. "A small group of pilots organized to buy it, but they weren’t ready to make the purchase."
Like Oxford, the Haverhill Riverside Airport ceased operations in the late 90s. Now, it serves as a marina, and storage containers were built on top of the concrete strips where planes used to land. The airport, one of a few locations capable of landing a seaplane, felt pressures of rising property taxes from the town, notes former owner Red Slavit. "If I had enough money, I’d buy it all back," says Slavit.
Sterling Airport still feeds the altitude-hungry with full-service operations, but pilots worry that it, too, could go up for sale. Sterling’s manager, Sean Brodeur, notes the challenge for a private airport is getting federal funding, money usually reserved for municipal airports. "We get pushed aside for funding, even though we still pay state registration fees and fuel taxes," laments Brodeur.
Arthur Allen, chairman of the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission (MAC), adds that private airports rarely get funding because they present the risk that the owner may receive funding only to sell the property to the highest bidder. In some cases, the MAC will take a mortgage out on the property to ensure that even if the owner sells, he has to pay the funding back.
"We have to try and protect public dollars," says Allen. "The fights we’ve won for keeping airports open have been fought tooth and nail."
When the bills keep piling up, private airport owners have a decision to make: Keep maintaining the land for enthusiasts who use the space for little more than a storage fee, or sell the massive acreage off to a developer. At Sterling, the airport charges $50 a month for a tie down to $250 a month for space in a hangar for pilots who base their planes on the field. Given such relatively small revenues, Allen adds that most private owners would not turn down millions of dollars for property that yields little in the way of a sustainable revenue stream.
A new model emerges: Hybrid facilities
Despite the numerous challenges, some airport owners use a model that doesn’t require closing. While the airport could sell off surrounding land it doesn’t use to developers, the risk exists for a residential neighborhood to complain about the noise and lobby to have the airport closed. Enter the airport industrial park, a business incubator that sustains the airport, all while generating revenue from rented space on the property.
Hopedale Industrial Park invested in new buildings spread around its property, leasing initially to manufacturers. When manufacturing slumped in Massachusetts, airpark owner Joe Menfi sought new clients, and now has about 60 tenants, mostly service industry start-ups, on his airport property. "I’m happy I didn’t sell," says Menfi, who points to the growing rental rates for his airport properties.
The operators of the Shirley Airport have begun constructing buildings on their property for the same purpose. Despite closing to public use, owner Dan Florio decided to open the former commercial airport to smaller aircraft, namely gliders, kit planes and sport pilots. The latter are smaller, affordable planes that require fewer training hours for a pilot’s license, and are unlikely to land at a larger municipal airport. The potential for leasing space, however, remains the key to generating revenues.
"We’re making much better use of the property," says Florio. "The new buildings are a financially sound usage of the acreage."
These two parks stand as examples of local airports that reached outside the industry to stay afloat, but other models for developing new uses for old airports exist. Across the country, new aviation communities let pilots park their plane where a car would usually sit. In New England, Falmouth Airpark on the Cape and Windsock Village in Ossipee, NH stand out as successful models, but their presence in C. Mass remains a wish for enthusiasts.
Industry experts say that a very real possibility for rejuvenating private airports exists in new planes called VLJs - very light jets. These planes fly faster and farther than current private jets, yet they can still land at most small air strips. Targeted for the air taxi and corporate markets, these planes could make private airports a renewed hub of activity. But while orders for these planes are outpacing expectations, MAC’s Allen wonders just how long privately owned airports can hold on.
"In my gut, I feel like we could lose a few more," says Allen.
Jeffrey T. Lavery can be reached at jlavery@wbjournal.com
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