Hartford’s City Council passed a nonbinding resolution to decommission Hartford-Brainard Airport, but it’s not clear whether the complicated and expensive process of closing the airfield will actually move forward.
City councilors unanimously voted in favor of the non-binding resolution Monday night, a move Councilor Shirley Surgeon said demonstrates city legislators’ position that the waterfront land would serve the city better if it were developed.
“It’s a huge amount of property that could go back onto the city’s tax roll,” Surgeon said of the 201-acre waterfront parcel in Hartford’s South Meadows section. I believe that the opportunity for generating more income from such a large piece property would benefit the city’s residents.”Â
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who has long been a vocal advocate of closing Brainard and opening it up for development, this week said he supported the city council’s resolution.
Brainard sits on on riverfront land at the intersection of two major highways, I-84 and I-91, Bronin said. The mayor said in an interview that Hartford could use the space for uses that would better serve the public, and generate more tax revenue.
“I think we have an obligation as a city to try to utilize every opportunity we can to position the city for future economic growth,” Bronin said. “The hundreds of acres that this small unprofitable little-used airport is on, could represent a very significant economic development opportunity for our city and our state.”
However, the land is owned and operated by the quasi-public Connecticut Airport Authority, which oversees six Connecticut airports, including Bradley International Airport.
CAA Executive Director Kevin Dillon said CAA doesn’t intend to use any of its resources to close Brainard. The city of Hartford cannot order the airport to close, and Dillon said he’s heard no interest from state officials about condemning the land to shutter the airfield.
Shutting down the airport would be a painstaking, expensive process, Dillon said.
First, the CAA or state would have to repay about $2 million in federal grants, and that’s before defending against lawsuits that airport tenants would likely file. Additionally, CAA would have to submit a plan to the Federal Aviation Administration that demonstrates Connecticut’s other airports can absorb air traffic from Brainard.
Dillon also argued that Bronin’s public desire to close the airport makes it difficult for Brainard to reach its full potential.
“It almost becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Dillon said. “I understand the mayor’s desire to see a higher and better use of the property… but it is something we’re going to have to reconcile.”
Gale said while the council supports decommissioning Brainard, he’s not sure whether the council will follow through with the nonbinding resolution with efforts to pressure the state.
“I’m hoping the council has sunk its jaws into this issue like a junkyard dog and isn’t going to let it go,” Gale said. “But I don’t have a roadmap for future activity.”
