By Joe Baur
Cleveland needs to sell Burke Lakefront Airport. They need to, like, yesterday.
Crain’s Cleveland recently reported that a new study will determine the need for publicly owned aviation airports. Burke is one of Ohio’s 97 public airports being looked at in the study.
“The Ohio Department of Transportation [ODOT] says the review — dubbed the Ohio Airports Focus Study — is designed to see what roles these airports play in their communities and to identify the kinds of improvements that can be made with limited state and federal funds,” reported Jay Miller.
Let me save you some time, ODOT. Burke Lakefront Airport serves no concrete role in the downtown community.
I’m not saying Burke doesn’t earn any money whatsoever, or serve some kind of purpose. But city planning, as far as I can tell, is about serving the needs of the surrounding community. Speaking as a downtown resident who travels extensively, I can’t say I have a need for Burke to exist anymore or that I ever did. I use Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport for my travels. Speaking of, I can’t say anyone downtown is a frequent user of Burke. That’s probably because there hasn’t been commercial air service since 2006.
Sure, Burke may be serving the community indirectly through taxes or by shipping in the occasional Saudi Prince for an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic. But the downtown community does not directly or concretely benefit from having an airport we don’t use, parked on the most valuable real estate in the city.
Know how we can benefit from that property? Turn it into a Millennium Park-style location, or develop mixed-use property around the shores, connecting it with the Waterfront Rapid line. Just do something with it that doesn’t leave expat Clevelanders lamenting, “Man, I wish they would’ve done something with that while I lived there.”
The fact that we’ve done virtually nothing with our lakefront is a crime against our residents. Imagine how much property values would rise if we gave people a reason to locate near the lakefront. Imagine how much our confidence would increase if we could honestly say we have one of the best waterfronts in the country. Imagine how much less we would be laughed at if we didn’t have to explain to visitors why we nonsensically waste lakefront property on a public airport that the public doesn’t use. It’s easy if you try!
Cincinnati has embarked on an impressive redevelopment project along the banks of the Ohio River between Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ballpark, aptly named “The Banks.” Here’s their vision statement.
“The vision for The Banks is to create a place where thousands of people will live, work and enjoy leisure time. The mixed uses- consisting of retail, residential, entertainment, office, parking and hotel space – will be active 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Banks is intended to be a gathering place for people across the region, providing a variety of attractions that promote public enjoyment and appreciation for Cincinnati’s riverfront.”
Why the Hell can’t we do that in Cleveland?
[Photo by jmd41280]
Joe Baur is a freelance writer, filmmaker and satirist with a diverse array of interests including travel, adventure, craft beer, health, urban issues, culture and politics. He ranks his allegiances in the order of Cleveland, the state of Ohio and the Rust Belt, and enjoys a fried egg on a variety of meats. Joe has a B.A. in Mass Communication with a focus on production from Miami University. Follow him at MildlyRelevant.com and on Twitter @MildlyRelevant.
28 Responses to “Sell Burke Lakefront Airport”
mike
Loose Burke and we loose our branch of the federal reserve bank.
bob
as ONE soul ONCE said…GO OUT THERE DURING WINTER in a STIFF BREEZE…stand there for 10 minutes AND THEN with a straight face say YOU are just panting to get OUT there… MAYBE HALF a park makes sense thou WE have a *$*@ blank time of it NOW trying to keep EXISTING parks up n running…..I WILL grant You not all that busy there…AND is a overflow airport for odds n ends..BUT..HOUSING..ARE YOU or rest I N S A N E… WE ARE SITTING on HOW MUCH DEAD concrete aka buildings…I WILL grant you NOT all of it is useable,desireable,wrong location,etc.etc. WE go OVER ALL THIS stuff allllllllllllllllllllllll the time…GET WHA MONEY FROM WHO to build NON needed WHAT to use for WHO exactly…AGAIN..at WHAT new inflated building cost? WE are now land of small niche biz,etc.
PUT THIS ANOTHER way…CULTURAL changes…ONLY CERTAIN % have the $,time,patience,INTEREST,etc.into this style of living… PUT THIS ANOooooooooooooooother way…. YOU would have WHA left of tax paying building owners paying for WHAT out there directly,INdirectly or otherwise and JUST gonna make it HARDER for THEM to keep their act together AND GUESS wha winds up in bankrutpcy court,TARP,etc. …..(SURE some geniuses MAY get a great bottomfisher bargain out of it….MAYBE….). via utilities,etc. CITY cant stay on top of wha HAVE NOW thou as time goes on SOME areas are being DETROIT DISASSEMBLED and turned INTO parkland,etc.
PUBLIC mood NOT into having some bizarre boomerang moment here..OUR area LITTERED w/wannabe projects…THINK MIDDLEBURGH HTS Stone or Cross SOMETHING mixed use senior housing project down on Pearl Rd&W.130th were the old TOPPS grocery store. Skateland USED to be…that Mz.schneider WHO did the STATE securities fraud thing among other things..SHE was like SECOND or THIRD builder on THAT jazz… I DONT want to get into all that BUT…AN indicator…
LISTEN… HORNBLOWERS couldnt make go of it…COULD say cuz didnt have enough traffic…
I COULD be slathering n frothing at mouth for no reason BUT we have had waaaaaaaay tooo many geniuses way to many ‘ideas’ for whutever reasons of all kinds for tooooo long…. yeah I KNOW I SOUND like a FEAGLER! but….Buuuuuuuuuuuuut….
ACTUALLY HAD a amusement park…wha call EDGEWATER..GONE NOW like 44 YEARS…. YOU would need SECURITY and GOOD insurance bonds…EXPECT ANYTHING to happen…HATE saying THAT…but if open up to public like THAT…
I CAN see a GOOD WEATHER LIMITED type deal…
PUT THIS ANOTHER way…OTHER INTERESTS got MEGA dollars into casino to rest of it….
bob
FEDS HAVE A SAY…FED charter,oversight…STATE tooo…AND OTHER SMALL airports disappearing..or were for awhile…
IN LIGHT of the brutal POLITICO envirio on top of everything else IDEA of ANYONE fooling around w/putting 2 bricks together is almost beyond comprehension…
I know THIS is a side track..MED MART…yes THEM…LEAST THEY honestly COULD say see the future…..considering OUR strengths,ed facilities,hospitals,IT crew,AND ALL the sci articles see written up all the time DOES lend self to idea of OUR version of a Boston High Tech Corridor…
bob
SPEAKING of dead concrete..I THINK see corner of ONE of em IN ABOVE pic..whaz their faces BEHIND GALLERIA which had OWN econ issues…which IS full of modern ENOUGH office buildings in a concentrated section….
bob
PUT THIS ANOTHER way….HUGE LOCAL Big Name bldg $%s NEAR throttled n hung out to dry HOW many politicos and upended THIS city to get a certain convention gig and SUSPECT some of THEIR mojo found way to REFORM efforts…. PUT THIS ANOTHER WAY…. HUNTINGTON Old bank bldg…HOW much @ and pulp ink have WE gone thru far as THAT while THEY almost ape good ol WOodCity in efforts to peddle THEIR jazz catty corner to Ameritrust which SAT MT how long…. NOW IMAGINE ALLLLLLll this as playing out there in the public and need this insane long game plan to track all this crap….
AGF
What the study should really include in its report: just who exactly DOES benefit from the existence of Burke? Where exactly does the money trail go? Who pays what in exchange for the enormous benefits received?
Joe, you are 100% correct: 99.8% of NEOH residents receive zero benefits from a subsidized airport on the lake. So who does benefit?
On the flip side, bob rambles plenty, but his point is legit: is now the time for a new project in CLE? Could it be viable, sustained?
bob
PUT IT BLUNTLY…WE DO NOT need more unnecessary costly projects … THE money,politco stomach isnt there..IF there really was demand there WOULD have interests showing interest ….AND I TRULY do NOT see any…
Eric replies
I agree with bob says. Burke was built on landfill. 60ft down and you’ll probably hit water. I would like to see Burke become an airport again. I don’t like peddle jumpers and commuter jets but I wouldn’t mind paying for regional airports that would service Great Lake commutes: Detroit, Chicago, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Windsor, etc… We need those routes and connections to bring tourist and business folks in that would come to Cleveland if it was easy. I love Hopkins, we were the first and one of the few cities that actually has rail transit to its airport but Burke represents a real opportunity to capitalize on lakefront assets from a tourist & convention center standpoint. I would luv 5000 people to move downtown and boost tax base but I would also love to have 25,000 visitors a year flying in and out Burke utilizing a Lakefront conference center that is connected to our tourist attraction and rail transit that can bring them into downtown without going outside.
Yeah that’ll work!
bob
THANKS Eric and AGF…..I HATE sounding like some sociopathic frothy at the mouth type person but BUT… EVERY time turn around SOME EXISTING building,project HAD LACKLUSTER viability..JUST had a writeup on WOLSTEIN CONVOCATION CTR… I can almost pic this scrambling for a ‘new use’ for said…or SOMETHING…. THAT apparently was built BEFORE DIMORA,GUnd arena and all that…MAYBE more viable then…NO idea if MedMart and rest of it gonna spill over to this or not…Is it me or is all this SOME bizarre self defeating conundrum going on here? I DONT see the need…
ON BURKE itself…FEDS control THAT… air traffic control to rest of it… SUSPECT THEY use burke as this EMERGENCY overflow type deal..or for military that occasionally comes thru…the rare ANG or C130 transport… DO have USN auxiliary down there in that area tooo…
MORE afraid SOME GENIUSES are gonna propose GREAT PLANS for mucking around with said and this HALF baked project… tooo MANY white collar NGOnonprofit types who latch onto this kind of *$*@…
ONLY thing scarier is THAT MAYBE shoplifting vodoo spewing ol black lady on that webcamfilmpic in that CVS or Rite Aid California area drugstore that is floating around on web…GOT MORE THEN ENOUGH OF THAT running around… and then have interests develop plans to well how shall we say REarrange social arrangments near THEIR projects… QUESTION..HOW many YUPPIES,etc.ARE THERE to support ALL THIS…SERIOUSLY…TAX abatements or not…EVERYONE assumes YUP crew is this uberhipchicUrbanDwellerLattedrinking type affair…..
IF I had a $ for all the times hit up for a $…
bob
SORRY AGF for being tooo wordy… ARE right bout $ trail..thou AINT much there to track…BUT COMPARED to some MEGA MIL $ or wannabe BIL $ horror story BURKE LOOKS GREAT… I just do NOT see it…talking LAKE ERIE…ONE thing giggling down there to cruise around on a boat,or a GoodTimes2 ferry boat or fishing…NOT mega $ housing… STAND OUT there during WINTER…Yikes….
STAND back..HOW many projects IN BANKRUPTCY court..or sitting EMPTY…OR STALLED REHAB programs.. walk past good ol HALLES…A LITTLE dark in there… heck..STANLEY bldg… WAS in THAT EXACT SAME condition for 30 YEARS…maybe EVEN 40!… NO one could do squat with that thing… LET the INTERESTS finish out wha got….
bob
in MY one comment above… GO thru SOME of the hoods..wow…grant U we all have to be somewhere and SOME have a REAL HARD bad time of it BUT… Yeah I KNOW econ is still a semi mess BUT.. SAD when one clown ADMITS to gonna take the $ n buy a beer…HE said being HONEST bout it…Wow… AND I look like a average everyday slob..guess gotta stop driving a car,tear me clothes up some more,drool,slur my words,etc.
bob
ATTEMPT by certain politicos to deflect attention,etc.for WHUTEVER reason?..can interpret THAT anywhich way want to… LISTEN… WE JUST WENT THRU THIS HORROR politico horror story WITH county corruption mess…NEVER mind rest of it..WE just went thru this Mudder of a politico mudfest…I could spiel on forever with this stuff…. COULD YOU RIGHT NOW take ALL THIS,go before VOTERS (OR ANYONE else) and SELL this stuff? SERIOUSLY…LISTEN… CITY getting BACK lake Erie side EX State of OHIO parks…lets see if THEY can handle park thing FIRST then MAYBE can go onto… THIS scramble to enlist METROParks..or other…good luck PARKWORKS….
FOLKS OF ALL STRIPES THANKFUL AMERITRUST is NOW GONE…CROSS fingers… HAVE a *$*@ time of it in HALF OF THE CLEVELAND wards PEDDLING this stuff LET ALONE burbs…. and 2/3s of BURBITES are EX Clevelanders…
bob
I STILL remember that one PD pic showing a LITE weight single engine plane SHOVED across grass,INTO CHAIN link fence and BALLED UP like TINFOIL….Wooow..TELLS U WHAT kind of winds get…U WOULD have to PUT A MOUNTAIN up to begin to deflect THOSE winds…SEEN ICE boulders FLUNG up onto NORTH MARGINAL road… stand near shoreline DURING high winds..FEELS LIKE NORTH ATLANTIC….
bob
On FED RESERVE connection to Burke Airport…NEWS to me….SOMEHOW I DONT want to know…I CRINGE every time some armoured car passes me and THANKFUL as H when THAT pup out of sight and out of my life……ALWAYS ASSume scared ARMED humans trying to get home in one pc are in there..PUT IT THIS way…HOW many CPD chased that couple all over the place (ok so some cut off interfereing traffic so not tangled up in THAT,etc.) after that befuddling moment in front of Downtown JC that resulted in that maddash…HOW thick was THAT whitePaper Study?
bob
ON BROWNS field? Wha can I say…let HASLAM figure it out…DONT get US started…I wont live that long to spiel my way thru all that… LISTEN..got big interests..PARKING LOT to rest.. REAL big HUGE hope,money is on MED MART,casino,shale oil,medical,etc. and IF THAT helps bring life,SHUTS UP INTERESTS then life is good..MY fear is good success MAY egg these clowns on…
NOT trying to denigrate Women Aviation museum BUT…Buuuuuuuuuut…
bob
Lets face it..GOT good ol CH down there on Lakeside TRYING to tough it out,get enough revenue to continue paying bills (can tell were going with this….)… COIN toss as to whether State will step in…We are NOT Detroit in THAT category but POTENTIAL is there… ask EAST Cleveland.. THIER rescuer is medical industrial complex… waiting for THEIR med campus mall sprawl to soak up excess space and create jobs,biz…
bob
ON MEDICAL biz side..YOU tell me…FLOWN in organ parts..IN this day n age of nano 3D printable body parts,etc. (well CAN do THAT with some of human bodyparts) MAYBE less need for donor organ flites..BUT THAT is still gonna be LONG ways off for THAT dynamic to reall take over..if ever… check web..see wha I mean… SUPPOSE same could be true of B2B type arrangements…hey…
bob
MY 6 : 50 AM entry…NOT trying to play race card..but WHA SUPPOSED to think… THIS SCARY *$@* ol lady jumping up n down like that…WHAT would be YOUR reaction… I HATE opening up that can of worms but it is there and be a liar if wasnt honest in saying that… MAYBE MORE IMPORTANTLY wha would ONE DO in that situation..THAT clerk in that point of time did a good job…considering…but… WHO wants to deal with THAT… put this another webstory way..JUST had that one young black mall cop who TASED that one young gal who dogged him out,tapped Him on his chest,etc. THAT was another web sensation…sad guy needs a CHEST body security webcam to CYA his tailfeathers for future police reports &/or legal action….
bob
Mr.young black mall cop by mall doorway webstory was like down in ATLANTA or a Atlanta suburb…was a few wks ago…maybe just a wk ago…You get the idea…
bob
ANYWAYS…. enough of mallcop,etc. SERIOUSLY… HAD 200 F B I personnel running thru COUNTY bldg /other locations not enough four yrs ago…
WHO wants to deal with FEDS NOW considering a FEDERAL function far as Burke Lakefront… ANY takers? THAT COUNTY HORROR lasted HOW long…AND can be sure THEY wont hesitate to giggle up the roadway to check out anything else either for that matter….
bob
SURE NOTICED how PORT AUTHORITY and other stuff got Q U I E T n NEVER heard from again…sure LOT of ugly scenarios went thru their minds… LISTEN..if want to have a RTA run some extra busses by port authority parking lots,etc.then Ok fine… espec.during special events,etc. the PARKING LOT BARONS…hey..if Datenite down at some fancy new bar,etc.then hey guy gonna blow mega $s and pay some extra higher dollar parking to get his date gal as close to bar,restaurant as possible…same could be said of mr.powerbroker,lawyer,etc. REST of us? Hey… wha can I say….
bob
Let wolstein work his magic…let Him finish up his office bldgs,etc TIME will tell on hotel thing… WE ALL are WAITING for MED MART to be least a partial savior..to be HONEST THAT is viewed as way to maybe keep PART of DOWNTOWN viable instead of winding up on landbank rolls…I DONT have to get into all that do I ….
SOMETHING to be said for Ol flats… SAD n scary when hear BAR OWNERS say LET a MODA have the biz and the *$*@ goes on THERE (gonna go on SOMEWHERE..)… guess gotta have a place for folks to go ape crazy… NOT sure how many Warehouse,Flats denizens,etc. watch the *$@* go on from their balconies,etc. SURE can or could hear it… wha expect… some enjoy all that MardiGraMayhamMoments…SAFER for gals,etc. GUYZ get their thrill off n leave HIGH end stuff alone…heck..WERE was COYOTE CLEVELAND… want another Chardonnay my darling?…what were we doing again..Oh yeah…
bob
IDEA…HIT UP FOUNDATIONS for DEMOLITION MONEY… get worst of wrecks DOWN… EVERYONE WINS… THAT FOLKS CAN GET BEHIND…EVVErrrrrrrrrrrryone can….
bob
Agree with Mr.Grabski…forgot about superfund potential…thou not sure if fuel spillage falls into that category..usually that concerns more toxic materails…still semi valid point worth considering…
ON another level… BLIZZARD of 1978…gosh awful and then some…HORRIBLE..had to rescue folks out of their cars…heck..each winter folks take boats out of water,et.c. WHAT does THAT say…
bob
NOW imagine LIVING down there with all that going on….BAD enough in wintertime for rest of City…
bob
IF ANY HOT action… EAST 9th pier…WHY You ask? MED mart among other things may spur that on….MAYBE…FI could believe some of those newsreports…HOW viable hotel thing is anyones guess…MAYBE trolling for interst,fund money…NO idea on that…maybe a bone tossed out to WHOEVER as pacifier… thou EMBASSY SUITES sure closed up shop and converting to apartments…and THAT with MEDMART opening up HOW soon…wha kind of omen is THAT…maybe MORE to Embassys situation then wha meets the eye and legally,otherwise decided had to do it but…BUT…….
FINALLY at end of day HOW much fancy housing can one have,build or fill…LIMITS as to how many millionaires,sports players,bankers,etc.one can have down there….
bob
MAYBE mr.BAUR said as much when used my quote..then again get the juices and @comments going…PS..I have NO financial interests in ANY of this OTHER then INdirectly via property,sales taxes,other far as these projects…and considering the politico envirio and rest of it I aint holding my breathe…..
bob
PUT IT THIS way… WHICH columns GET the hot eyeball attention? GOT that CoolCleveland category of 5 most checked out categories,newsstories…WHAT does that say…. WHICH is semi sad n somewhat disservice TO rest of “CoolC” articles,contributors…I guess let folks decide on that tooo…NOT 100% the 5 Ws behind all THAT…but would think covered ENOUGH in likes of regular local media but hey maybe not everyone uses,accesses all that and wants other opinions….