A Hartford city councilor is hoping to revive a long-running debate over closing Hartford-Brainard Airport and using it for riverfront redevelopment.
Councilman James “Jimmy” Sanchez on Monday proposed a resolution for the council that would urge the closure and decommissioning of the state-owned general aviation airport, which sits on 200-plus acres in the Meadows section of the city and mostly serves private aircraft and charter operators.
The resolution, which was moved to committee, is the latest happening in a decades-long debate over the potentially prime land occupied by an airport that generates well under $1 million in direct tax-and-fee revenue for the city.
In an interview Tuesday, Sanchez noted the airport’s proximity to two other state-owned facilities along the river.
The first is an aging waste-to-energy plant, overseen by the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority, slated to close next summer.
The other is the Connecticut Regional Market, which could be redeveloped — and possibly even relocated — as a result of an ongoing planning process run by the Capital Region Development Authority.
“I think now is the time where we have an opportunity to truly move forward,” Sanchez said.
However, it’s not the first time there’s been political pressure from Hartford to redevelop the airport. A legislative report in 2016 found that closing the airport would be “extremely difficult and likely costly,” and would require an unlikely federal approval or waiting until 2035, when federal grant obligations expire.
Indeed, Hartford councilors voted to close the airport in 1959 — when the city still owned the airport — which led to the state buying the facility.
Connecticut Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Dillon said Tuesday closure and decommissioning would require the repayment of about $2 million in outstanding federal grants.
He said it’s also possible the Federal Aviation Administration would require any buyer of the property to pay market rate to CAA in order to put the proceeds back into the state’s aviation system. CAA would also likely be required to show that Brainard’s capacity could be absorbed by other facilities in the state, such as Tweed New Haven, which is preparing for a $100 million expansion.
Dillon said the value of the airport to the city and region can’t just be measured in tax revenue, but in overall economic impacts, including jobs and related spending.
The number of flights out of the airport have been declining over the past decade, from about 71,000 in 2010 to about 50,000 in 2010. The number of aircraft based there has also fallen, from 139 in 2015, according to the legislative report, to about 100 today, according to CAA.
CAA has wanted to expand the airport in recent years, but said it has run into local opposition, including for approximately 40 acres of trees that need trimming and removal so that pilots can better see the existing runway.
A resolution from city councilors wouldn’t be enough to decommission the airport on its own. It would also require the state legislature and governor, as well as federal approvals.
