CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne sent a letter to Congressional members on Wednesday, requesting assistance in shutting down Burke Lakefront Airport.
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“When you look at other cities like Chicago, Seattle, Boston, New York, they’ve done a good job of maximizing their waterfront land. And I want to make sure Clevelanders have a best-in-class waterfront because they deserve it,” said Bibb on Thursday.
According to the letter, the city and the county are requesting support to decommission the airport to repurpose the 450-acre waterfront site for public access and job-creating development.
For decades, Burke has consumed a vast stretch of lakefront land while aviation activity has steadily declined. What was once envisioned as a flourishing reliever airport is today an underutilized airfield with a fraction of its former traffic. The limited benefits it provides no longer outweigh the opportunity costs of keeping nearly 450 acres of prime downtown waterfront walled off from public use and economic growth. Repurposing this land will unlock transformative potential — parks and trails along the lake and new development opportunities that could deliver billions in longterm impact for the city, county, region, and state.
Bibb and Ronayne asked that the Department of Transportation collaborate on a roadmap and timeline for closure and that Congress members urge the Federal Aviation Administration to approve the closure, affirming the city’s ability to decommission Burke Airport.
“It is the people’s choice to decommission Burke. We have heard loud and clear from residents throughout the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County that it’s time. It’s been long past time,” said Ronayne.
In the letter, they say that Hopkins, Cuyahoga County Airport in Richmond Heights, and other can meet the need if Burke is indeed shut down.
The airport has a long history in Cleveland seeing many air shows and presidents.
According to a recently released and city-backed study, a mixed-use development of housing, retail, and green space could generate $92 million a year, while keeping Burke open could cost the city about $900,000 a year in losses.
“It’s a great opportunity for our entire region to benefit from a new lakefront park that has development opportunities on the West and possible park opportunities on the east. I’ll leave that to the mayor and the City Planning Commission. But at the end of the day, this is really accessible land that could be used to really create a vibrant Cleveland waterfront that we’ve all been waiting for,” said Ronayne.
In order for the airport to be closed the city would need congress to pass a measure signing off on it or approval from the FAA.
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Cuyahoga County released the following statement:
Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and City of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb have formally asked the Department of Transportation and our Congressional delegation to urge the FAA to take action and officially decommission Burke Lakefront Airport. Burke has occupied a prime stretch of downtown waterfront for far too long and Executive Ronayne strongly believes that decommissioning the airport will allow us create a transformative public space that benefits the entire region.
Read the full letter here:
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