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Economy could ground business plans at airport

Commercial developments sought for 150 acres at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport

The City of Dayton is opening up 150 acres of land on the east side of the Wright Brothers Airport for development. The land is located along Austin Pike and is partially wooded.

Ty Greenlees/Staff Photographer The City of Dayton is opening up 150 acres of land on the east side of the Wright Brothers Airport for development. The land is located along Austin Pike and is partially wooded.

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer Updated 12:20 AM Sunday, February 7, 2010

MIAMI TWP., Montgomery County — Dayton city officials plan on Feb. 19 to open proposals from private companies for commercial development of about 150 acres at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport. But with the economy still struggling, it is anybody’s guess whether there will be proposals to open.

City officials issued the request for proposals in October 2009. The hope is to encourage economic development on what is a wooded tract in the northeastern corner of the airport property to generate income tax revenue that would be shared by Dayton and Miami Twp. through their joint economic development district, in which the airport lies.

The revenue could help Dayton maintain the airport, which it owns. The airport is within the township. The land, comprising more than one-fourth of the airport’s 527 acres, is near where the state is building the Austin Pike interchange along Interstate 75 that is to open late this year.

But the request for proposals includes some potentially challenging conditions:

• Dayton will retain ownership of the land. The city would be willing to lease the land for up to 40 years for commercial development, but there is no guarantee that the lease would be renewed, creating a long-term risk for a developer who would build there.

• The developer would be required to post an irrevocable $1.5 million letter of credit, which could be lost if the company failed to initially develop at least 20 of the 150 acres to generate land-lease payments within three years.

• Any proposal for nonaviation uses of the property would have to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, because airport property is involved. In that case, the developer likely would have to obtain local government approval to change the property’s current airport-use zoning.

“It appears that the criteria that the city of Dayton has tied to this proposal are very stringent, in these economic times,” said Skip Schafer, president of Commercial Realty Associates Inc., a Washington Twp.-based company that operates in the Dayton-Cincinnati region.

Schafer said he was unfamiliar with the proposal. His company is hoping to create a commercial development in Springboro, south of the airport.

Obtaining financing for commercial construction is a challenge during the economic downturn for developers who must persuade lenders that projects can generate enough revenue to be successful, said Eric Belfrage, a hotel broker in Columbus who works across the Midwest.

Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport will continue as an airport, no matter the outcome of the solicitation of development proposals, said Iftikhar Ahmad, Dayton’s director of aviation.

The imposed conditions reflect the fact that the FAA is unlikely to approve land leases of longer than 40 years, and would allow Dayton to keep public ownership of the property in case future city administrations need it, Ahmad said.

The developer would determine when any construction would begin. City officials would require some type of woodsy buffer zone to shield nearby homes, Ahmad said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Dayton seeks development proposals

Dayton officials are waiting to see whether there is interest from developers in submitting formal proposals. Proposals will be opened on Feb. 19, and can be submitted to the city until then.

A Jan. 12 pre-proposal information meeting attracted representatives of Mills Development, Miller-Valentine Group, RG Properties, KZF Design, Woolpert Inc. and the city of Springboro, among others.

Dayton posted the request for proposals on the Dayton International Airport Web site, www.flydayton.com.

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